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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap£L.^Jcopyriglit No, 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




■W'M 




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ECLECTIC SCHOOL READINGS 

THE STORY OF 
THE THIRTEEN COLONIES 



b; 



H. A. GUERBER 



dX»<c 



NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO 
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



.'i0048 



Copyright, 1898, by 
H. A. GUERBER. 



STORY OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. 
\V. P. I 

ryOCCriE-5 RECEiVcD. 




E\t^ 



<^1^ 



c:^ ^ ju nk 0\ Q^ 



PREFACE. 



>>®<c 



This book is intended as an historical reader, an elementary 
text- book in the history of our country, or as an introduction or 
supplement to any of the excellent text-books on the history of 
the United States now in use. 

The aim has been not only to interest children in the great 
men of their own country, but to stimulate them to the cultiva- 
tion of the lofty virtues of which they read, and to instil within 
their hearts a deep love for their native land. 

All the main facts in our early history have been given as sim- 
ply and vividly as possible, and the lessons of patriotism, truth- 
fulness, courage, patience, honesty, and industry taught by the 
lives of our principal heroes are carefully enforced. Great pains 
have also been taken to relate all the well-known anecdotes and 
quote the famous speeches which are so frequently alluded to in 
our current literature. 

Although this book ends with the Revolutionary War, the story 
of our country is continued on the same lines in a companion 
volume entitled "The Story of the Great RepubHc;" yet each 
book is independent of the other and can be used separately. 

So simply worded as to be easily intelligible to average children 
of ten or twelve years of age, the text is further arranged in short 
paragraphs, to facilitate its use as a reader in large classes. 

5 



The pronunciation of difficult proper names is indicated in the 
text, and, more fully, in the carefully prepared index. The system 
of diacritical marks used is explained on the first page of the index. 

HINTS FOR TEACHERS. 

The best results in reading can often be obtained by the 
teacher's reading a chapter first, while the pupils closely follow 
the text in their own books. When called upon to re-read the 
same passages, it will be noticed that they almost unconsciously 
imitate every inflection they have heard. Thus they soon learn 
to read with due regard to expression, and therefore take a liveher 
interest in the subject-matter. 

Aside from its use as a reader, this text can also serve to 
supply themes for daily language work, certain parts of the les- 
son being chosen for verbal and others for written reproduction. 
My experience has been that after reading the chapters over once 
or twice most children remember both facts and names. If they 
cannot do it at first, they may easily be trained to do it by the 
judicious stimulus of a little praise, and the hope of winning their 
teacher's approval. 

To fix important facts in the memory, and to serve as reviews 
of previous readings, I have found that a set of question cards is 
almost invaluable. These can be quickly distributed among the 
children, who are called upon to answer them verbally or in writ- 
ing, as best serves the teacher's purpose at the time. 

Pupils consider historical matches even more exciting than 
spelling matches. To vary recitations, matches can be conducted 
in various ways. For instance, all the question cards bearing 
upon the parts of the book already perused can be divided between 
the two " sides." The pupils furnish oral or written answers, the 
side answering most questions correctly reaping the honors. The 
match can also be carried on by the teacher's supplying names 
or dates, and requiring pupils on alternate sides to state clearly 
what they know in connection with them. At other times, ordi- 



nary quiz methods can be used, or the teacher can relate some 
fact or anecdote, calling upon different pupils to supply the pur- 
posely omitted names or dates. 

Children are also often deeply interested in verbal pictures. 
For example, the teacher, without mentioning name, time, or 
place, can describe Franklin flying his kite, Ethan Allen surpris- 
ing the garrison at Ticonderoga, Columbus at La Rabida, 
etc. The description ended, each pupil can write down the 
names of the characters described, and mention time, place, and 
any other fact the teacher calls for. Such historical riddles seem 
more hke play than work to the average child, and before long 
all take great pride in making verbal pictures of their own, to be 
guessed by their schoolmates, or handed to the teacher instead 
of an ordinary composition. Such work not only appeals to 
childish imagination, but cultivates memory and attention while 
firmly fixing important facts in youthful minds. 

To encourage a taste for poetry and rouse a love for the beau- 
tiful by fine descriptions of the noted characters or great events 
with which the pupils have just become familiar, it is often well to 
read aloud some of our most famous songs or poems. 

It is universally conceded that history and geography should 
go hand in hand ; so suitable maps have been supplied, upon which 
children should be encouraged to locate each spot as soon as 
it is mentioned. The teacher should also procure a blank map 
for each pupil (such as the Eclectic Map Blanks, American Book 
Company), so that, after finding any place named on the ordinary 
map, the pupil can locate it exactly on an outline map. Many 
children are greatly interested in marking the names themselves 
as soon as their attention is drawn to them, and take great pride 
in seeing their maps grow. This method is often more helpful 
than any other in making children see how civilization has spread 
and what changes have gradually taken place in our country. 

To fix upon their minds the fact that colonies were planted 
by different European nations, it is often advisable to purchase 
at a stationer's tiny adhesive stars of various colors. Each color 



8 



serves to represent a nation, and stars are pasted upon the spots 
where colonies once stood. In cases where colonies proved un- 
successful, a black star can be pasted over the colored one, but 
in such a way that enough of the original star remains to show 
to which nation the colony once belonged. Where colonies 
changed hands several times, stars of appropriate colors can be 
pasted overlapping one another. This work fascinates children, 
and as the stars are adhesive, it can be done in class with very 
little trouble. A little tact on the teacher's part will make each 
pupil strive to have the neatest and most accurate map. 

History and geography, when studied in their turn, will seem 
far more attractive to children if these methods have been 
pursued ; for many persons and places already familiar will then 
be joyfully greeted as old friends. 



CONTENTS 



3>e^c 















PAGE 


I. 


Our Country Long Ago 13 


II. 


The Barbarous Indians 










17 


III. 


The Mounds 










20 


IV. 


Where the Northmen went 










24 


V. 


The Northmen in America 










. 27 


VI. 


Queer Ideas 










31 


VII. 


Prince Henry the Navigator 










33 


VIII. 


Youth of Columbus . 










36 


IX. 


Columbus and the Queen 










39 


X. 


''Land! Land!" . 










44 


XI. 


Columbus and the Savages 










48 


XII. 


Home Again 










• 51 


XIII. 


Columbus illtreated . 










54 


XIV. 


Death of Columbus . 










57 


XV. 


Hov/ America got its Name 










60 


-XVI. 


The Fountain of Youth 










62 


XVII. 


'•The Father of Waters " . 










66 


XVIII. 


The French in Canada 










70 


XIX. 


French and Spanish Quarrels 










73 


XX. 


The Sky City . 










77 


XXI. 


Around the World 










80 


XXII. 


Nothing but Smoke . 










83 


XXIII. 


Smith's Adventures . 










87 


XXIV. 


The Jamestown Men . 










91 


XXV. 


Smith wounded 










94 



lO 



XXVI. The Visit of Pocahontas to England 

XXVII. Hudson and the Indians 

XXVIII. The Mayflower . 

XXIX. Plymouth Rock . 

XXX. The First American Thanksgiving 

XXXI. The Snake Skin and the Bullets 

XXXIl. The Beginning of Boston 

XXXIII. Stories of Two Ministers 

XXXIV. Williams and the Indians 
XXXV. The Quakers 

XXXVI. The King-Killers 

XXXVII. King Philip's War 

XXXVIII. The Beginning of New York 

XXXIX. Penn and the Indians . 

XL. The Catholics in Maryland 

XLI. The Old Dominion 

XLII. Bacon's Rebellion 

XLIII. A Journey Inland 

XLIV. The Carolina Pirates . 

XLV. Charter Oak 

XLVI. Salem Witches . 

XLVII. Down the Mississippi . 

XLVIII. La Salle's Adventures . 

XLIX. Indians on the Warpath 

L. Two Wars with the French 

LI. Washington's Boyhood 

LII. Washington's Journey 

LIII. Washington's First Battle 

LIV. Stories of Franklin 

LV. Braddock's Defeat 

LVI. Wolfe at Quebec 

LVII. How England treated her Colonies 

LVIIL The Stamp Tax .... 



LIX. The Anger of the Colonies 

LX. The Boston Tea Party 

LXI. The Minutemen . 

LXII. The Battle of Lexington 

LXIII. Bunker Hill 

LXIV. The Boston Boys 

LXV. The British leave Boston 

LXVI. Declaration of Independence 

LXVri. A Lady's Way of Helping 

LXVIIT. Christmas Eve . 

LXIX The Fight at Bennington 

LXX, Burgoyne's Surrender 

^XXL The Winter at Valley For 

LXXn. The Quaker Woman 

LXXHL Putnam's Adventures 

LXXIV. Indian Cruelty . 

LXXV. Boone in Kentucky 

LXXVI. Famous Sea Fights 

LXXVII. The '' Swamp Fox " 

LXXVIII. The Poor Soldiers- 

LXXIX. The Spy . 

LXXX. A Traitor's Death 

LXXXI. Two Unselfish Women 

^. LXXXII. The Surrender of Cornwallis 

LXXXIII. The British Flag hauled down 

LXXXIV. Washington's Farewell 



MAPS. 

The Thirteen Colonies before the Revolution . 
North America before the French and Indian War 
Part of the Northern States .... 
Results of the War for Independence 



12 

189 
230 
322 




80 Longitiule West 76 from Gieen\\i.h 72 



(12) 



STORY OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. 



3>«^C 



I. OUR COUNTRY LONG AGO. 



CA.RNED men, who read the story of the earth in the 
mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, and seas which cover 
its surface, tell us that America, although known as the 
New World, is really older than Europe. The sun has 
shone upon this continent and the rain has watered it for 
more centuries than we can count. If you study your 
maps carefully, you will notice lofty mountains, great lakes, 
and long rivers in many parts of the country ; and you will 
see that it is beautiful and fertile almost everywhere, ex- 
cept in the far north, where snow covers the ground most 
of the year. 

The same wise men who found out that the country 
is so old, dug down into the soil, examined the things 
they found there, questioned the Indians, and, little by 
little, discovered that our continent has been inhabited by 
many different kinds of animals and men. They found 
huge bones of animals which died thousands of years ago, 
and placed these in museums, where you can now see 
them. They also found the bones of some of the ancient 

13 



H 



men and women, with some of their weapons, tools, 
kitchen pots, and bits of their garments. 

By studying these things very carefully, and by listen- 
ing to the stories of the natives, they learned a great deal 
about the country which, from Greenland and A-las'ka 
in the north, to Cape Horn in the south, was once inhabited 

bv tribes of Indians. 



r 




A Savage Indian. 



form a race by themselves. 



None of these had white 
skins like the inhabitants 
of Europe, black skins 
like the negroes in Afri- 
ca, or yellow skins like 
the Chinamen in Asia. 
But as they were more 
like the people in Asia 
than like those in Africa 
or Europe, some men 
now think they may once 
have belonged to the 
same family. 

Still, the men living 
on our continent were so 

~'' unlike others that they 
are called red men, and 

Those who lived in the part 



of the country which is now called the United States had 
copper-colored skins, high cheek bones, straight, coarse 
black hair, small black eyes, and very wide mouths. Al- 
though they all looked somewhat alike, they were very 
different in their ways of Hving. The Indians living east 
of the Rocky Mountains were a little more civilized than 



those living west of those mountains and in the far north- 
ern parts of the continent. 

The western and northern Indians are generally called 
savage Indians, for they Hved by hunting and fishing, had 
no houses like ours, and were always roaming around in 
search of game. They were sheltered from the sun and 
rain by tents called wigwams. These rude dwellings 
were made by driving poles in the ground, in a circle as 
big as the wigwam was to be. When 
all the poles had been set up, the tops 
were drawn close together and firmly 
tied. Over these slanting poles the 
Indians spread the skins of the 
animals they had killed, or else 
they wove leaves and branches be- 
tween the poles to form a thick 
screen. The space between 
two of the poles was 
left open to serve as 
a door, and over this 
was hung a bear or buf- 
falo skin to keep out ^Jl^ 
the sun, rain, or cold. 

The space inside the wig- 
wam was generally very small ; A. Wigwam. 
but all the family crowded in, 

and when it was cold or wet, a fire was lighted in the 
middle of the floor. The smoke then escaped through 
a hole purposely left in the top of the wigwam, or through 
the open door. 

The savage Indians had learned to make baskets, which 







they plastered with clay inside and out, and dried in the 
sun until they could hold water. When they wanted to boil 
their meat or to warm water, the women, called squaws, 
heated stones in the fire, and then dropped them into the 
water, which was thus brought to a boil. 

These Indians rowed about in canoes made of basket 
work, of birch bark, or even of hollow tree trunks. As 
they had only stone axes, they could not easily cut down 
trees, so they brought them to the ground by kindling a 
fire all around them. When the tree had fallen they built 
another fire farther up the trunk. A log of the right 
length having thus been secured, they hollowed it out by 
starting small fires on top of the trunk, and scraping away 
the charred wood, until the log formed a rude canoe. 

The Indians made their birch-bark canoes by sewing 
long strips of bark together with plant fibers or the sinews 
of the animals they had killed. The basket-work canoes 
were covered with skins to make them water-tight. 




Making a Canoe. 



17 



II. THE BARBAROUS INDIANS. 

THE Indians east of the Rocky Mountains knew a little 
more than the savage Indians, so they are called the 
barbarous Indians. Besides hunting and fishing, they dug 
up roots with stone hoes, or with shells, and planted corn, 
beans, pumpkins, squashes, tomatoes, tobacco, and sun- 
flowers. Of course they did not have neat fields and 
gardens, such as you see now; but they scratched a 
hole wherever the ground seemed good enough, dropped 
a few seeds into it, and covering them over, left them 
to grow without further care. 

The barbarous Indians were not content, like the savage 
Indians in the West, to fling a skin around them to keep 
off the cold, merely fastening it with a big thorn to hold 






Indian Pottery. 

it together. So they made winter garments by sewing 
skins together with sinews or plant fibers. In summer 
they had lighter clothes, rudely woven out of cotton or 
plant fibers. They, too, wove baskets, made beautiful 
birch-bark canoes, and after fashioning pots and pans out 
of clay, hardened them in the fire, so that they could use 
them in cooking. 



i8 

• 

These Indians had tools and weapons made of finely 
polished stone or bone, and they liked to live in villages. 
Instead of wigwams, many of them built houses of wood, 
or basket work and clay, roofed over with strips of bark. 
Sometimes the roof was a very thick layer of long grass, 
laid on rude rafters, and held down by poles to form a kind 
of thatch. 

The houses thus built were generally very long and 
rather narrow, with a door at either end, and a passage- 
way running through the center. On either side of this 




hall there were Httle rooms, each occupied by a family. 
At intervals along the passage the ground was hollowed 
out, and a clay or earthen fireplace was built, where four 
families cooked their meals. Above the fireplace there 
was a hole in the roof to serve as chimney. The rooms 
near the doors were generally used as storerooms for food 
and fuel. When several of these long houses were built 
together, they were often surrounded by a wooden wall, 
or palisade, to keep out the wild beasts and to serve as 
protection in time of war. 

The Indians who once lived in New York and in the 
valley of the St. Law'rence lived in long houses, but the 



19 

Mis-sou'ri Indians had round houses, built of the same 
materials. In the round houses the fireplace was in the 
middle, and families lived in rooms shaped like cuts of a 
pie. Many of these round houses were built close to- 
gether, and then surrounded by a palisade made of tree 
trunks. These were driven into the ground so close 
together that they formed a very strong fence. 

Although Indians did not have family names, such as we 
have now, each great family, or clan, had a special sign 
whereby it was known, such as a bear, a turtle, or a beaver. 
This sign was often marked upon their bodies in bright 
colors, and they carved and scratched it on all their 
belongings. From this sign the family was known as the 
bear, the turtle, or the beaver clan. Each clan selected a 
ruler, called sachem, or sagamore, whose orders all obeyed, 
and they also chose a chief to lead them in time of war. 

The Indians had never been told about the God we 
love, so they worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, the 
lightning and thunder, the wind and rain, and said that 
one great spirit, called Man'i-to, was always watching 
over them. They also believed that when they died they 
would be carried off to a place where they could hunt and 
fish forever, and they called this heaven the happy hunt- 
ing grounds. 

Their religious ceremonies were usually performed by 
Indians called medicine men. These pretended to be 
very wise, and frightened the others by dancing and yell- 
ing wildly, and using strange words and signs. They said 
this would please their gods, and drive away the evil spirits 
of sickness, storm, or drought. The Indians were so sim- 
ple that they believed all this nonsense, and they were 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — 2 



20 



SO afraid of evil spirits that 
they often begged an an- 
imal's pardon for killing 
it. You see, they thought 
the spirit of a wolf or bear 
might else be so angry as 
to torment them in their 
dreams ! 

The men spent their 
time hunting, fishing, and 
fighting, but left all the 
rest of the work to the 
women. When they 

moved from one place to 
another, the squaws had 
to carry all the household 
goods, as well as the pa- 
pooses, or babies. But the 
men carried only their 
bows and arrows, hunting knives, and the hatchets called 
tomahawks, which they threw with great force and skill. 




A Papoose. 



^>^c 



III. THE MOUNDS. 



BESIDES the savage Indians of the north and west, and 
the barbarous Indians of the east, there were also half- 
civilized Indians in the south of our country. They dwelt 
not only in what is now New Mex'i-co and Ar-i-zo'na, but 
were also found in Mexico, Central America, and South 
America, as far down the map as Chile (che'la). 



21 



The southern Indians had learned how to build canals, 
so as to lead the water far away from the streams into 
dry and barren lands. When the ground had thus been 
watered, or irrigated, it became very fruitful, and they 
could grow all the grain and vegetables they needed. 

The southern Indians lived together in huge fortresses, 
built of sun-dried bricks, called adobe. These fortresses 
were large houses five or six stories high, containing ever 
so many little rooms, each occupied by one family. Thus 
one house often sheltered two or three thousand people. 








Cliff Dwellings. 

Sometimes these Indians built their houses on the ledges 
of steep rocks, or canyons. Such houses were called cHff 
dwellings, and many remains of these queer homes are 
still found in the southwestern part of our country. The 
Indians who lived there were gentle, and not fond of 



22 



fighting, but they built fortresses and cHff dweUings to 
defend themselves when attacked by the savage Indians. 

You see, the savage Indians did not grow any grain or 
vegetables, but they came down from the north to steal 
the provisions of the southern Indians. These, therefore, 
carried all their supplies into the cliff houses, which they 
built in such a way that it was almost impossible for an 
enemy to get in them. 

The inhabitants themselves, however, easily went in 
and out by means of ladders, which led from story to 
story, or from ledge to ledge. Their houses had no doors 
down near the floor, but were entered by a hole in the roof. 

In each of these fortresses there was a great cistern, full 
of water, and so large a supply of food that the Indians 
could stand a long siege. In times of danger they pulled 
all their ladders away up out of reach, and when their 
enemies tried to climb the steep cliffs or straight walls, 
they pelted them with stones and arrows, and thus drove 
them away. 

Wise men tell us that even before our country was 
occupied by the savage, barbarous, and half-civilized 
Indians, whose way of living has just been described, it 
had been inhabited by their ancestors or by an older race 
of men. We know they existed, because people have 
dug up their bones. These have been found principally 
inside huge earthen mounds of very queer shapes. The 
mounds were evidently built by those early inhabitants, 
who are hence known as the mound builders. Trees 
hundreds of years old now grow upon these mounds, 
which are found in most parts of the eastern Mis-sis-sip 'pi 
valley, especially in O-hi'o. 



23 





In one place you can see a big mound representing a 

snake one tliousand feet long, his body lying in graceful 

_ curves along the ground. 

I - - . :, .^ This snake's mouth is 

wide open, and he 
looks as if try- 
^^^^^^^ ing to swallow 
an egg-shaped 
^^i;^^ mound, which is one 

hundred and sixty-four feet 
long, and hence a pretty big mouth- 
ful. As this mound is so odd, it 
has been inclosed in a park, where it 
is to be kept just as it is, to remind people 
of the mound builders who lived here so long ago. 

No one now knows exactly why these queer mounds were 
made, but learned men have dug into about two thousand 
of them, and as they have generally found bones, stone 
arrowheads and axes, beads, mortars, hammers, tools for 
spinning and weaving, pottery, baskets, and coarse cloth, 
they think the mounds must have been intended princi- 
pally as burying places. The beads found in them are 
very like those 
which the bar- 
barous Indians 
called wampum 
and used as 
money.' Indi- 
ans wore these beads in strings around their necks, or 
wove them into belts, using beads of different colors to 
form very pretty patterns. 




Wampum. 



24 



IV. WHERE THE NORTHMEN WENT. 

AS you have seen in the first chapters of this book, 
/V America was once a very different country from what 
it is to-day. Now you are going to learn how it changed, 
little by little, from the wild land where Indians roamed 
about in the huge forests covering the greater part of the 
country, into a civilized country. 

We are told that in all the wide territory now occupied 
by the United States, there were, four hundred and fifty 
years ago, about two hundred thousand Indians. These 
were very few inhabitants for so big a country, for now 
there are many cities here which count many more citizens. 

The Indians then little suspected that on the other side 
of the great ocean there was another country, occupied by 
a race of white men, who knew much more than they did, 
and who were soon coming to take possession of their 
land. 

But the people in Europe, wise as they were, did not 
know many things which everybody knows now. That 
was not their fault, however, for they had been trying for 
several centuries to learn all they could. In the middle 
of the fifteenth century Europe was already an old coun- 
try, where long series of kings and queens had ruled over 
the people. There were then in Europe cities more than 
two thousand years old, ancient temples and castles, and 
many of the beautiful Christian churches which people 
still admire, because none finer have ever been built. 

The people in Europe had long been great travelers by 
land and sea, although it was not so easy to get about 



25 

then as it is now. Indeed, on land they could go only in 
wagons, in litters, on horseback, or on foot ; and on the 
water they used nothing but rowboats or sailboats, be- 
cause no one had yet imagined that one could use steam 
or electricity. On the sea, even the boldest sailors did not 
dare venture far out of sight of land, for fear they would 
not be able to find their way back. 

The best seamen in Europe were the Northmen, or 
vik^ings. Already in the eighth century they used to sail 
out of the viks, or bays, in Nor'way, every spring, to go 
in search of adventures. These Northmen, Norsemen, or 
Normans, little by little explored the coast of the North 
Sea, and of the Atlantic Ocean, and finally came to the 
Strait of Gi-bral'tar. Passing through this opening, they 
came to the beautiful Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an Sea, where they 
cruised about, even visiting the Greek islands and the re- 
nowned city of Con-stan-ti-no^ple. 

As you will see by looking at your maps, this was a 
very long journey for men who had nothing but sailboats 
or rowboats, such as very few sailors would dare to use 
nowadays. But the Northmen were afraid of nothing, 
and when the wind blew, and the great waves tossed their 
little vessels up and down Hke cockleshells, they held 
tight to the rudder and steered on, singing one of their 
famous songs. 

Sometimes, however, the tempest raged so fiercely that 
they were driven far out of their course. Thus, in the 
middle of the ninth century, one of these hardy seamen, 
after tossing about on the stormy seas several days, landed 
on an island which he had never seen before. 

This new olace was Ice'land, and he was so pleased 




A Viking Bold." 



2-] 

with his discovery that he sailed home and persuaded his 
family and friends to go back there with him to settle 
down. In a few years other Northmen came to live in 
Iceland, sailing across the Atlantic from time to time to 
visit their old homes and friends. Soon the colony grew 
so large that its seamen kept up a lively trade with dif- 
ferent ports in Europe. 

One of these Ice-lan'dic seamen, Gunn'biorn, on his 
way home, was once overtaken by a violent storm. It 
drove him far out of his course, and finally brought him 
in sight of a new land, covered with snow, which he called 
the White Land. When he reached home he told the 
Ice'land-ers what he had seen ; but no one cared then to 
go and see if there really was a land west of Iceland, as 
he had said. 

About a hundred years later another man, Er'ic the 
Red, was driven out of Iceland for murder. Remember- 
ing what Gunnbiorn had said, he sailed westward, and 
went to settle in the new country, which he called Green- 
land, so as to attract other settlers. A number of them 
soon joined him there, and began to trade with the 
Es'ki-mos, a race of Indians who lived in the coldest part 
of the country, where they hunted white bears and fished 
for cod and seals. 

V. THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA. 

A FTER Eric the Red had settled in Greenland, he sent 
/v word to one of his friends, Biar'ni, to come and visit 
him. Biarni gladly accepted the invitation, and although 



28 



he had none of the instruments which sailors now use to 
guide them safely over the seas, he set out boldly, steering 
his course by the stars. 

Unfortunately for Biarni, a storm soon came up. The 
stars could no longer be seen, and his ship was driven far 
out of .its way. When the skies cleared Biarni saw land 
before him, and fancied he had reached Greenland. So 
he sailed slowly along the coast, looking for Eric's settle- 
ment; but, as he could not find it, he soon turned around 
and went back to Iceland. 

Of course he told his adventures to his friends, and 
Leif the Lucky, hearing him describe the land he had 
seen, set out in search of it, in a large ship manned by 
a number of men. Sailing westward, Leif coasted along 
Lab-ra-dor' and NoVa Sco^tia, came to Cape Cod (map, 
page 189), and landed, it is thought, somewhere in Rhode 
Island, in the year 100 1. 

Although Biarni and Leif did not know it, they had 
been the first white men to see North America, which, as 
you will see, did not receive this name till many years 
later. Leif the Lucky found so many wild grapes in this 
region that he called the country Vineland, and loading 
his ship with timber and grapes, he went home. But he, 
with another Northman, soon came back to spend a winter 
in the new country, where the climate was much milder 
than in Iceland or Greenland. 

For some years ships sailed from Norway to Iceland, 
from Iceland to Greenland, and from Greenland to North 
America, where a Northman finally settled with about 
one hundred and forty men and women. Snor'ri, the 
son of this brave leader, was the first European child born 



29 



in America. He lived to grow up, and the great sculptor 
Thor'wald-sen, as well as several other noted men, claimed 
him as one of their ancestors. 

The Northmen, however, had a very hard time in 
America, for they were soon attacked by the Indians, 




A Viking's Ship. 

whom they called Skrae'lings. Even the women had to 
fight to defend themselves against the savages. But when 
they found that these attacks did not cease, they decided 
to leave the country, and went home in 1012. 

As far as we know, after that no ships from the North 
visited America for several hundred years. But the story 
of Eric the Red and of Leif the Lucky was, fortunately, 



30 . 

written down in one of the old Norse tales, or sagas. It 
is probable that the people went on talking for some time 
of the strange country their friends had visited, but after 
a while they forgot it entirely. Indeed, were it not for 
the old story, no one would now know that they were the 
first Europeans who set foot in our country, and you will 
still hear some people deny that they ever came here. 

Now, it may seem very strange to you that the news 
of the Norse discovery of the new land was not made 
known everywhere ; but you must remember that the 
people in Europe had no newspapers or printing presses, 
and that news traveled very slowly. No one but a few 
Northmen, therefore, were aware that land had been found 
in the West. 

So America was forgotten until, according to an old 
story, a Welsh prince named Mad'oc was driven across 
the Atlantic by a storm, in the twelfth century. He was 
so well pleased with the new country he found that he is 
said to have left some of his men there, promising to re- 
turn soon with more settlers. The story goes on to say 
that he sailed from Wales to keep this promise, but no 
one ever heard anything more of him, or of the men he 
left in America. 

Some people think that he and his men perished in a 
storm, and that the settlers he left behind him were mur- 
dered by the Indians. Others insist that the whole story 
was made up by the Welsh, so they could claim the honor 
of having discovered America. Whether the Welsh ever 
came here or not, — and it is hardly likely they ever did, — 
the fact remains that our continent, after being discovered 
by Europeans, was los.t again. 



31 



VI. QUEER IDEAS. 

PEOPLE living in Europe, near the sea, were all fond of 
cruising about ; but as they had no compass at first, 
they seldom ventured out of sight of land, for fear of losing 
their way. After a time they learned to steer their vessels 
by means of the stars; but as these could serve as guides 
only on clear nights, sailors were glad to use the compass 
when it became known in Europe, in the twelfth century. 

But although seamen now fearlessly cruised about the 
European waters, they did not venture far out into the 
Atlantic, which was then known as the *' Sea of Darkness." 
The fact is, they were afraid to do so, because they had 
been told they would meet strange monsters there, such 
as mermen and mermaids. They also thought their ves- 
sels would be drawn toward the ** Loadstone Mountain," 
a great magnetic rock which would draw all the nails 
out of their planks, and thus make their boats fall to pieces. 

Of course this was all nonsense, but most of the seamen 
believed these tales as firmly as some sailors now believe 
that Friday is an un- 
lucky da}^ ; and as no 
one had ever gone far 
out in the Atlantic, 
even learned men 
could not prove to 
them that they were 
mistaken. Besides, 
although they had fairly good maps of the countries they 
ha4 visited, people knew nothing at all of the rest of the 




32 

world. Their maps showed only the northern part of 
Africa, the western and southern parts of Europe, and the 
western part of Asia. All the rest was a blank. 

Common people then believed that the earth was round 
and flat, like a pie, with the ocean flowing all around it. 
So they were afraid to venture too far out, lest they should 
fall over the edge of the world and drop down into space ! 
Wise men, however, already knew better ; for, about three 
hundred years before Christ, Greek philosophers had be- 
gun to suspect that the earth is round like a ball, and not 
flat, as every one until then had supposed. 

They and their pupils wrote books giving their reasons 
for believing this; but as printing was not invented till 
seventeen hundred years later, these works were known 
only to a few learned men. Most of the European schol- 
ars then lived in Greece or Constantinople, and kept these 
precious manuscripts in monasteries or private libraries, or 
in palaces and schools. 

In the twelfth century a Spanish-A-ra'bi-an philosopher 
read some of these Greek manuscripts, and then wrote a 
book, saying that he not only believed that the earth is 
round, but that he thought it would be possible to sail 
around it! This statement, so natural and simple now, 
seemed so absurd to the people who heard it then that 
they began to make all manner of fun of it. They asked 
how it would be possible for a ship to sail uphill, even 
supposing it did not tumble ofl" the earth when it reached 
the edge, which they called the jumping-off place. 

They also asked how the trees on the other side of the 
earth could grow with their roots up in the air, and in- 
quired whether the rain and snow flew up instead of falling 



33 

down. These questions, which seem so odd now, were 
very natural, for people did not then know, what your 
teachers have explained to you, that the earth Is Hke a 
big magnet. It holds fast everything on its surface, and 
nothing can fall off, even though it spins around and 
around, and whirls through space much faster than the 
fastest express train can travel. 

The Turks, who were not Christians, besieged the city 
of Constantinople in 1453, and when they became masters 
of it, and of the surrounding. country, the learned men 
all fled, taking with them many of their precious manu- 
scripts. Deprived of their quiet homes, and in many cases 
forced to teach to earn their living, these wise men settled 
in various cities, where they imparted to others all they 
knew. 

As printing had just been invented, books, instead of 
being worth a fortune, soon became so much cheaper that 
almost everybody could afford to have one or two vol- 
umes. The precious manuscripts the wise men had saved 
from the Turks were therefore printed, and people soon 
began to talk about the strange things they read in them, 
and longed to know more. 

VII. PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATOR. 

AMONG the first books printed were the accounts of 
^ the travels of two daring men, Mar'co Po'lo and 
Sir John Man'de-ville. These men had visited many of 
the countries of the East, and the first had even gone to 
China, which was then called Ca-thay'. The stories these 



34 



travelers told were so interesting and exciting that peo- 
ple became anxious to visit these strange countries, 
and especially to trade there and thus grow rich. 

Ever since the days of Al-ex-an'der the Great, if not 
sooner, a certain amount of trading had been done with 




the East. But as all the silk, 
sugar, spices, etc., had to be 
brought by coasting vessels 
to the head of the Per'sian 
Gulf or the Red Sea, and 
thence overland by caravans 
to some port on the Black 
Sea or the Mediterranean, 
they became very costly. 
Sometimes, too, the goods were brought all the way 
from China or India, or the heart of Africa, through deserts 
and over mountains to the Black, the Mediterranean, or 
the Red Sea, by caravan, although it took a long while to 
travel all those weary miles. 



A Caravan. 



35 

For some time the Turks allowed this trade to go on, 
but by and by they began to treat the traders so badly 
that the traffic almost stopped. The cities of Ven'ice and 
Gen'o-a in Italy, whose ships had constantly sailed to and 
fro in the Mediterranean and Black seas, to carry these 
goods from port to port, were now nearly idle, and the 
people who had grown so rich were about to become poor. 

As the Turks were too strong to be driven away, the 
traders longed to find another road to reach India, Cathay, 
and Ci-pan^go, or Japan. A way of reaching these coun- 
tries by sea was what they most desired, because it is 
much easier to carry goods in ships than on camels. 

The Ve-ne'tians and Gen-o-ese', however, were not the 
only ones who wished to find a new road to the East. 
Many of the European coast cities fancied that if they 
could only discover it, they could keep the trade all to 
themselves, and thus grow richer and more powerful than 
their neighbors. 

One of the countries which most coveted the Eastern 
trade was Por'tu-gal, where a bright boy was heir to the 
throne. This lad. Prince Henry of Portugal, once went 
with his father to Ceu'ta in Africa. Although then very 
young, he listened eagerly to the wonderful stories told 
about Guin^ea, on the southern side of the Sa-ha'ra. He 
soon began to wonder if it would not be possible to get 
there by saiHng along the coast instead of crossing the 
African desert. This, you must know, was a great under- 
taking, because people found nothing to eat or drink 
there, and suffered much from the heat. Besides, the 
wind called the simoom raised such clouds of dust that 
whole caravans were sometimes buried in the sand. 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — 3 



36 . 

By looking at the maps in your geography, you can see 
that it was easy to sail from Portugal to Guinea ; but at 
that time people knew nothing of the west coast of Africa. 
Prince Henry, in hopes of solving the problem, began 
to study very hard. Before long he read in an old book 
that a wise man thought it possible to sail all around 
Africa, and he longed to find out if this was true. 

As soon as he grew up, he therefore hired a number 
of seamen to try it, and showed such interest in sea 
voyages that he is often called the Navigator. The 
mariners thus sent out, Httle by Httle explored the coast 
of Africa, and creeping farther south every journey, they 
discovered the Ma-dei'ra and Canary Islands. 

But the sight of the smoke above the volcano of Ten- 
er-ife' so terrified them that they dared go no farther. It 
was only some time later that Por'tu-guese mariners 
reached the Cape Verde Islands and Sen-e-gal'. But one 
of their number had in the meantime learned, from a 
Flem'ish seaman, that there was a group of islands west- 
ward, and the Portuguese, going there, planted a colony on 
the A-zores', which still belong to them. 



5>&<C 



VIII. YOUTH OF COLUMBUS. 

WHILE Henry the Navigator was busy with his dis- 
coveries, the rest of the world was not standing 
still. Although he little suspected it, a boy born in 
Genoa, about 1436, was to be a far greater navigator 
than he. This boy was Christopher Columbus. 



37 

Although Christopher's father was only a poor wool 
comber, he managed to send his son to school at Pavia 
(pah-ve'a). There the little fellow studied hard. But he 
had no pretty book's such as you have now, and had to 
pore over musty parchments. In spite of that, he took 
special interest in geography and mathematics. When 
only thirteen, Christopher was forced to leave school, be- 
cause his father could not afford to keep him there any 
longer. After combing wool for a short time, he went 
to sea with one of his relatives. 

A sailor at fourteen, Columbus began to lead a very 
stirring and adventurous life. Genoa, his native city, was 
then often at war with other places, and battles were fought 
on the sea as well as on land. Besides, in going about 
from place to place, Genoese vessels were frequently over- 
taken by pirates ; so mariners in those days had to know 
how to fight, as well as how to sail their vessels. Colum- 
bus, therefore, had more than one battle with these sea 
robbers, whose aim was to secure the goods on board his 
ship. Once he took part in a fight off Cape St. Vin'cent. 
Here, his vessel having caught fire, he and his crew sprang 
into the sea to escape the flames. By rare good fortune, 
Columbus managed to grasp a floating oar, and with this 
slight help he swam to the distant shore. 

In the course of his many journeys Columbus visited all 
the principal ports of the Mediterranean Sea. Ever eager 
to learn, he questioned the seamen and travelers he met, 
and they gladly told him the strange things they had seen 
and heard while visiting foreign lands. 

After a time Columbus came to Lis'bon, hoping to be 
employed in making discoveries for the crown ; for, as we 



38 . 

have seen, the Portuguese were the boldest seamen of the 
day. Whether or not Columbus took part in some of 
their journeys we do not now know ; but we do know that 
he soon found himself obliged to earn his scanty living by 
drawing maps. As he was a very pious man, he daily 
went to say his prayers in a neighboring convent church, 
where he met a young lady whom the nuns were educating. 
Falling in love with her, Columbus soon made her his wife. 

The newly married couple lived with the mother of 
the bride, the widow of a seaman and chart maker. She 
soon gave her son-in-law her husband's papers and in- 
struments. In looking over the former, Columbus found 
that his wife's father had once been in the employ of 
Henry the Navigator, and had written an account of his 
voyages. 

Poring over these papers, and thinking over all he had 
read and heard from travelers, Columbus became more 
and more convinced that the earth is round, and that 
by sailing directly westward one w^ould reach the coast of 
Asia. This idea, which had already haunted him for 
some time, now left him no rest. He longed to try, for 
he was in hopes of finding a new road to India, which 
would enable his native city to carry on the trade which 
had made it so rich. This trade had been stopped, when 
lie was about seventeen, by the taking of Constantinople, 
as you have already heard. 

According to the calculations of Columbus, — for, like 
all the wise men of his time, he fancied the earth smaller 
than it is, — the lands known to the Europeans extended 
over about two thirds of the surface of the globe. As 
he thought that Asia stretched much farther east, he 



39 

now began to think that perhaps the strip of ocean which 
separated Cipango from the Canary Islands might not be 
so very broad, after all. 

To discover whether others shared this belief, Columbus 
wrote to Tos-ca-nel'li, a learned Italian, asking him 
whether he thought it possible to reach Asia by sailing 
straight across the Atlantic. Toscanelli answered that he 
thought it could be done. He also sent Columbus a map he 
had drawn, on which he had placed Cipango (Japan) nearly 
on the spot which Cu'ba occupies in your geographies. 

When Columbus received this map he determined to 
make an attempt to reach Asia by boldly sailing westward. 
But he was too poor to buy or hire a vessel himself, and 
we are told that when he once asked the Genoese to 
supply him with one, offering to give them the benefit 
of his discoveries, they only made fun of his plans. 

Although disappointed, Columbus did not give up his 
idea, and still tried to gain all the information he could. 
He even made a journey to Iceland ; but the people he 
talked with there had so entirely forgotten the land that 
Eric and Biarni had visited in the west, that they never 
even mentioned it to him, so far as we now know. 



3>e«4c 



IX. COLUMBUS AND THE QUEEN. 

GENOA having refused to help him, Columbus, some 
time later, explained his wishes to John II., the 
new king of Portugal, for Henry the Navigator was dead. 
This ruler also took great interest in such matters, but 



40 

as he was not very wise himself, he called together a 
council of his most learned men to listen to all that Co- 
lumbus had to say. These men declared the plan absurd ; 
but the king did not feel quite sure that they were right. 

John did not wish any other country to have the glory 
of finding the new road to India ; still, he did not want to 
trust a ship to Columbus. Advised by one of his bishops, 
he secretly sent out a Hght ship, with orders to sail directly 
westward. The captain and crew did not believe one 
could sail across the Atlantic, and were sorely afraid of 
the monsters which they fancied swarmed in the Sea of 
Darkness. They therefore took advantage of the very 
first storm to come back, reporting that it was impossible 
to go any farther. 

When Columbus heard that the king had been so dis- 
honest as to try to steal his ideas, he was justly indignant. 
He left Lisbon in anger, vowing he would have nothing 
more to do with such a ruler. Still, as he was fully deter- 
mined not to give up his cherished plan to try himself, 
he sent his brother Bar-thoro-mew to England to ask if 
Henry VH. would give him a ship. 

In the meanwhile Columbus staid in Spain, earning a 
scanty living for himself and his little son Diego (de-a'go); 
for by this time his wife had died, leaving him alone with 
this child. But although so poor that he often had to beg 
food, Columbus thought night and day of the time when 
he would sail westward to Asia. As he went from place 
to place, he tried to interest various people in his plans, 
and for a while believed that some Spanish noblemen 
would help him. 

But they finally told him they could not undertake 







.u 



(41) 



42 

such an important expedition, and advised him to apply 
for aid to the king and queen at Cor'do-va. Hoping still, 
Columbus journeyed thither, and found that the royal 
couple were too busy trying to drive the Moors out of 
Spain to pay much attention to him. 

Time went on thus, and while Columbus was anx- 
iously waiting, Portuguese seamen crept down the coast of 
Africa until they reached its "southern point. There a 
tempest raged so fiercely that the captain called it the 
Cape of Storms, and, not daring to venture around it, 
sailed home. When he told John II. of his discovery, 
the king declared that the cape should henceforth be called 
the Cape of Good Hope, for there were now good pros- 
pects of reaching India by coasting all around Africa. 

In 1487, the very year that the Portuguese thus finished 
exploring the western coast of Africa, Columbus was 
called before the learned men of the Spanish court at 
Sal-a-man'ca, to explain what it was he wanted to do. 

But after talking about his plan for three years, these 
men also declared it was impossible, because one of the 
fathers of the church had said that the earth could not be 
round. Columbus was in despair, for he had spent years 
in trying to convince them, and in following the court 
from one city to another. 

Greatly discouraged, yet determined not to give up, 
Columbus decided to leave Spain and go to France to seek 
help of the French king. He therefore set out on foot 
for the nearest seaport, but on the way thither stopped at 
the monastery of La Rabida (rah'be-dah) to ask for a 
drink of water and a bit of bread for his hungry boy. 

While the child was eagerly eating the food given him, 




43 

the prior, or chief of the monastery, passed by. Struck 
by the noble appearance of Columbus, he began to ques- 
tion him. Columbus 
then told Prior Perez 
(pa'reth) how much he 
longed to carry out the 
plan upon which he had 
set his heart. 

The prior, who was 
a learned man, listened ~^^^^^5^^g^"^p: "^ 

with ereat interest to , r^.,., 

^ La Rabida. 

the tale Columbus told. 

He also invited the travelers to tarry with him a few 
days, and sending for his friends, bade them hear what 
the stranger had to say. Among the listeners were the 
brothers Pinzon (peen-thon'), experienced seamen from 
the neighboring port of Palos (pah'los). 

The prior and the Pinzons were so impressed by all 
Columbus said that the latter offered to furnish a ship and 
go with him, provided he could secure enough help to 
carry out his plan. As for the prior, he offered to go to 
court and persuade Queen Is-a-bella — whose confessor 
he had once been — to supply the necessary funds. 

True to his resolve, the prior rode off on his mule, and 
laid the whole subject so simply and plainly before Isabella 
that she promised to give all the help needful. This 
answer so pleased Perez that he wrote to Columbus, " I 
came, I saw, God conquered," and sent him money, bid- 
ding him come to court without further delay. 

It seemed at first as if Columbus's troubles were now 
over; but in spite of all Isabella's good will, some time 



44 

passed by before she and King Fer'di-nand could hear 
him. Then, more delays having occurred, Columbus set 
out, in disgust, to try his luck elsewhere. But Isabella, 
fearing that the chance of great wealth and honor would 
escape her, sent a messenger after him, saying she would 
even pledge her own jewels to raise the necessary sum. 
Hearing this, Columbus came back, and only with great 
difficulty secured a royal promise that he should have 
the title of admiral, that he and his descendants should 
govern any lands he discovered for Spain, and that he 
and they should receive one tenth of all the pearls, gold, 
and spices brought to Spain from these new countries. 



3>«<C 



X. ''LAND! LAND!" 

IN 1492, therefore, more than eighteen years after he 
began asking for help to carry out his daring plan, 
Columbus sailed out of the port of Palos with three little 
vessels — the Santa Maria (sahn'tah mah-ree'ah), the 
Pinta (peen^tah), and the Nina (neen^ah). Columbus 
himself commanded the first, the Pinzon brothers were 
captains of the other ships, and the crews, all told, con- 
sisted of about one hundred men. 

The vessels were small and uncomfortable, without real 
decks, cabins, or holds; but Columbus started out boldly 
to brave unknown dangers and venture into strange seas. 
His course was first southward, because he intended to 
get fresh water at the Canary Islands before saihng due 
west in search of Asia. 



45 




The Santa Maria. 



Although still in well-known waters, the seamen already- 
seemed doubtful and afraid, and the third day after they 
sailed, the Pinta signaled that there was something wrong. 
Columbus soon learned 
that her rudder was out 
of order; and although 
Pinzon tried to mend it, 
his vessel could not sail 
fast. 

When Columbus came 
to the Canary Islands the 
rudder was properly re- 
paired, and while waiting 
for that to be done, he 
heard from the inhabitants that after strong westerly 
winds they had often found on the beach strangely carved 
bits of wood. Once two bodies were washed ashore, and 
the islanders said they were those of men unlike any race 
ever seen in Europe or the parts of Asia and Africa with 
which they were familiar. 

Setting out from the Canaries, Columbus quieted the 
fears of his crew, when they came within sight of Mount 
Tenerife, by explaining to them that it was only a volcano, 
like Mount Et'na. Then he steered directly westward. 

The men's hearts sank as they lost sight of land, and 
all began to think over the terrible stories they had heard. 
People who are always looking out for something to get 
scared at are easily frightened ; so when the three ships 
sailed into the warm waters of the middle Atlantic, where 
seaweed grows in such quantity as to make the sea look 
green, the sailors were terrified. 



46 . 

But Columbus was no faint-heart, and he steered right 
on, making the ships cut their way through the floating 
masses of seaweed in the Sar-gas'so Sea, as that part of 
the Atlantic is called. Perceiving that his men grew more 
frightened as the distance increased between them and 
their homes, Columbus did not tell them how many miles 
they had really gone, but carefully kept the account for 
his own use. To cheer his men, he promised a great 
reward to the first who caught sight of land. 

Instead of looking for mermaids, monsters, and boiling 
seas, the sailors now began to watch for land, and several 
times they mistook clouds for distant mountain peaks. 
Day after day passed on, until the men, horror-struck 
at the endless stretch of sea and sky, again and again 
begged Columbus to turn around; but he always refused. 

Then they grew so angry that they plotted to throw 
him overboard and take command of the vessels them- 
selves. They were on the point of doing this, when they 
saw a shrub covered with fresh berries floating over the 
waters. A little farther on they found a carved stick and 
a small board, and soon after beheld birds flying south- 
ward. By these signs they felt sure land must be near, 
and eagerly resumed their watch for it. 

To please one of the Pinzon brothers, Columbus un- 
willingly consented to change his course and follow the 
birds ; but if he had gone straight on he would have 
landed in what is now called Flor'i-da. 

Standing on top of the poor little cabin of his vessel, 
on the evening of October ii, Columbus peered out into 
the darkness, wondering whether he would see land be- 
fore him when the sun rose. Suddenly he fancied he 



47 



saw a light. He called two men, and as they saw it too, 
he felt sure they were near land at last. 

A few hours later, at early dawn on Friday morning, 
October 12, 1492, the Pinta, which was ahead, gave the 
joyful signal that land was in sight. When the sun rose, 
all on board beheld one of the Ba-ha'mas, which Colum- 
bus mistook for an island off the coast of Asia, 




John van der Lyn, Artist. 



Landing of Columbus. 



Although uncultivated, the island was inhabited, and the 
Spaniards soon saw naked savages run out of their low 
huts, to stare in wonder at the ships. The poor creatures, 
who had never seen sailing vessels before, fancied that 
the boats had come straight down from the sky. 

Dressed in scarlet, wearing beautiful armor, and carry- 
ing a flag which bore the crowns and initials of Ferdinand 
and Isabella. Columbus went ashore in a small boat. As 



48 _ 

he set foot upon land, he fell on his knees, and after thank- 
ing God for bringing him there in safety, he took posses- 
sion of the island in the name of the king and queen, 
and called it San Salvador (sahn sahl-vah-dor'). 

His men, who had been disobedient, hateful, and ready 
to kill him such a short time before, now crowded around 
him, kissing his hands and feet, and begging his pardon 
for their past ill conduct. The natives, who had fled into 
the woods at the approach of the strangers, watched all 
these proceedings from behind the trees. After a short 
time they timidly came forward, and, encouraged by the 
Spaniards' kind glances, wonderingly touched the white 
men's hands and beards, and evidently admired their gay 
apparel. 

Columbus was so sure he was near India that he called 
the savages Indians, a name which has ever since been 
used for the red men in America. Then he gave them 
colored caps, glass beads, and little bells, trinkets which 
the Indians fancied were priceless heavenly treasures! 

XI. COLUMBUS AND THE SAVAGES. 

ALTHOUGH Columbus could not understand one word 
^ of the language the savages spoke, and although 
they did not know Spanish, he tried to talk to them. As 
you can readily imagine, this was not an easy thing to 
do ; but by making signs, Columbus soon made the 
Indians understand that he would give them more of his 
trinkets in exchange for fruit, a kind of bread they showed 
him, and the yellow ornaments they wore. 



49 

When Columbus found out that these ornaments were 
of pure gold, he felt more convinced than ever that he 
v^as near Cipango, Cathay, and India, and he asked the 
natives where they had found the precious metal. As 
they kept pointing southward, and said words which he 
fancied sounded like Cathay and Cipango, he imagined 
they were trying to tell him about those countries, and 
about a king in the south, who was so rich that all his 
dishes were of gold. 

The desire to reach this country and to visit Asia's 
ruler — for whom he had brought letters from Ferdinand 
and Isabella — made Columbus set out early on the mor- 
row. He took with him seven happy natives, whom he 
intended to use as interpreters; but they fancied he was 
carrying them off to heaven. 

Coming to some more small islands, Columbus took 
possession of them also ; and on the way to a larger one 
he overtook a savage in a light canoe. The Spaniards 
drew the man on board with his skiff, and as they found 
in the latter a gourd of water, some bread, red paint such 
as the savages used to beautify themselves, and a string 
of the beads they had brought, they concluded he was 
going to announce their coming to some friends. 

When they drew near the coast, therefore, they sent 
this man ashore in his little canoe, and, landing themselves 
the next morning, found the savages assembled and ready 
to exchange gold and food for worthless European trinkets. 

After visiting several of these islands, Columbus steered 
southward in search of a larger island, which was Cuba, 
but which he at first mistook for Japan. Here the savages 
fled at his approach ; but Columbus, anxious to make friends 



50 

with them, went into their huts, and left a few beads in 
each, forbidding his men to carry anything away. 

Still searching for the wonderful city of the fabulous 
ruler who ate and drank from vessels of pure gold, Co- 
lumbus coasted along Cuba. As he saw nothing but mean 
huts, he fancied that the city must be far inland, and that 
none but poor fishermen lived on the shore. He therefore 
sent an expedition inland ; but his men were sorely disap- 
pointed to find a collection of mud huts instead of the 
grand palaces they had expected to behold. 

The savages here did something which greatly puzzled 
the Spaniards. Taking a certain kind of dried leaf, they 
rolled it up, and, lighting one end, stuck the other between 
their lips. Then they drew into their mouths and blew 
out a strangely perfumed smoke ! Seeing that the savages 
seemed to enjoy it, the Spaniards tried it also, and thus 
became acquainted with the tobacco plant and learned to 
smoke. 

It was now so late in the season that Columbus did not 
dare to wait any longer to secure the cargo of silks, pearls, 
spices, and gold which he had hoped to carry home. He 
therefore determined to sail back to Spain, make known 
his discovery to the king and queen, and fit out a larger 
expedition for trading. 

On his way home he discovered and took possession of 
Hai'ti, which he called His-pan-io'la, or ** Little Spain." 
His best ship, the Santa Maria, having been wrecked, 
forty men were left behind in a fort there. Columbus bade 
them be good to the savages, and learn their language, so 
they could tell him all about the great king when he 
came back. 



51 



XII. HOME AGAIN. 



COLUMBUS set out on his return journey in January, 
but he was obHged to go very slowly, because the 
wind was often against him, and because one of his vessels 
was badly crippled. In the middle of February a terrible 
storm separated the two ships, and Columbus, fearing his 
vessel would sink, and the news of his discovery perish 
with him, wrote out two accounts of his journey. These 
were inclosed in cakes of wax, which were put into empty 
casks. One of them was cast into the sea, but the other 
was left on deck, so it could float off if the boat sank. 

The storm grew so fierce that Columbus and his men 
vowed to go in procession to the first church they saw 
after landing, and re- 
turn thanks, if they were 
only spared. When the 
storm-tossed navigators 
finally reached the 
Azores, therefore, they 
tried to keep this prom- 
ise ; but the people were 
so unkind that they 
imprisoned those who 
landed. Columbus man- 
aged to recover his men, 

but on the way from those islands to Spain another tem- 
pest overtook him, and it was only after much tossing that 
the Nina at last reached Portugal. 

As soon as he landed, Columbus sent a messenger to 




The Nina. 



STO. OF THIR. COT 



52 



Ferdinand and Isabella to announce his safe return, and 
the success of his undertaking. The very -people who had 
once made fun of him now eagerly listened to all he had 
to say, and their hearts were full of envy at the thought 
that the newly discovered islands would belong to Spain, 
and not to Portugal. It is even said that some one basely 
proposed to murder Columbus and send out ships to take 
possession of the land in the name of Portugal. 

The king, however, would not consent, and Columbus, 
sailing away again, finally entered the port of Palos, 

whence he had started so 
many months before. As 
soon as the people heard 
that he had succeeded, 
they were almost wild 
with joy, and rang all the 
bells in the city. One 
of the Pinzons, who had 
hoped that Columbus's 
vessel had gone down in 
the storm, came into Pa- 
los just then with thtPhi- 
ta. He had intended to claim all the honors of the new 
discovery, and was greatly disappointed when he found 
that Columbus had reached port before him. 

As the court was at Bar-ce-lo^na, Columbus immedi- 
ately went there, with his Indians, parrots, and other 
curiosities, and all along the road people came in crowds 
to stare at him. They gazed in wonder at the Indians, 
who, in their turn, were bewildered by all the strange 
sights they beheld. 




The Pinta. 



53 

The royal couple received Columbus in state, and, after 
he had bent the knee before them in homage, made him 
sit down in their presence — a great honor — and relate 
his adventures. Columbus gave them glowing descrip- 
tions of the new islands, told them he had found the 
road to India, and promised that they should soon be 
rich. This news caused such rejoicing that the royal 
couple went to give solemn thanks in the chapel. 

Honors were now showered upon Columbus, who was 
welcomed and feasted everywhere. In fact, people made 
such a fuss over him that some of the courtiers became 
jealous. A story is told about one of these men who 
sneeringly remarked at a banquet that even if Columbus 
had not discovered the road across the ocean, there were 
plenty of brave Spaniards who could have done so. Co- 
lumbus seemed to pay no special attention to this taunt, 
but quietly taking an egg from a dish placed in front of 
him, he asked the guests if they could make it stand 
on end. All tried, and failed. When they finally de- 
clared the feat impossible, Columbus struck the egg on 
the table hard enough to break its shell sHghtly. Then, 
leaving it standing there, he calmly said that everything 
was equally easy — after you knew how to do it. 

The news brought by Columbus made a sensation 
everywhere ; but while all the people were talking about 
his discoveries, he was actively preparing to cross the 
Atlantic again, intending this time to reach India. In- 
stead of three miserable little ships, and very small crews, 
he now had a fleet of seventeen vessels, carrying about 
fifteen hundred men. 

The second expedition set sail in September, 1493, and, 



54 . 

after stopping at the Canary Islands, steered across the 
Atlantic to the eastern West Indies. There Columbus 
found a fierce race of Car'ibs, of whose attacks the Indians 
had complained to him the year before. The Spaniards 
explored these islands, lost their way at times in the forest, 
and once came to the homes of some cannibal Caribs. 
When they saw a heap of human bones, left over from a 
horrible feast, they shuddered' with dread at the thought 
of falling into the hands of these cruel men. 



>>^c 



XIIL COLUMBUS ILLTREATED. 

ABOUT one year after leaving the colony at Haiti, 
J~\ Columbus came back, to find the place deserted. 
One of the Indians who had gone to Spain with him 
knew enough Spanish by this time to act as interpreter. 
Through him, Columbus learned that some of the colonists 
had fallen ill and died. The rest, disobeying his orders, 
had been cruel and unkind to the natives, and so anxious 
to get rich that the Indians, in self-defense, had fallen 
upt)n and killed them. 

The site of the first colony having proved so unlucky, 
Columbus established the next on another spot, and called 
it Isabella, in honor of the queen. Here the Spaniards 
began to trade with the natives for gold, and Columbus 
sent this metal to Spain, asking that provisions should be 
sent out in exchange, because the Spaniards did not like 
the natives' food, and had not yet found time to grow 
crops for their own use. 



55 

Besides the gold, Columbus sent back a whole cargo 
of men, women, and children, to be sold as slaves. This 
was cruel and wicked ; but Columbus believed, as most 
men did then, that it was far better for the Indians to 
be slaves among Christians than free among heathens. 

The colonists had expected to grow rich very fast, and 
to find all the gold they wanted. They were therefore 
sorely disappointed at getting so little, and before long 
became discontented and hard to manage. While they 
were trading with the natives, Columbus sailed away, 
still seeking for India, which he felt sure must be quite 
near there. 

He went along the coast of Cuba, and then southward 
to Ja-mai'ca, finding several other small islands. But after 
cruising about for some time, he came back to Isabella, 
where he found the colonists ill and unhappy. They had 
not only quarreled among themselves, but had illtreated 
the natives, robbing them of their wives and daughters, 
as well as taking their food. 

The Indians, who had once been so happy and indolent, 
were now weary and sad. Besides, they had learned to 
hate the Spaniards, and were plotting to murder them. 
Learning this, Columbus had to treat them as foes, to 
protect the Spaniards. The natives next refused to sell 
any more food to their enemies, and if a provision ship 
had not come from Spain, Columbus and his colony would 
surely have died of hunger. As there was very little gold 
to send back this time, Columbus shipped all his prisoners 
of war, and thus five hundred natives were forwarded to 
the Spanish slave market. 

During the next two years Columbus had much trouble 



56 

with the Indians, who, finding it almost impossible to collect 
the amount of gold he exacted as tribute, often revolted. 
He also had a hard time managing the colonists. Homesick 
and discouraged, they accused him of deceiving them by 
false tales of the riches they could get, and of ruHng so 
badly that their lives were in danger. 

These complaints were sent to Spain, and the royal 
couple, hearing so much against Columbus, sent a noble- 
man to Haiti to find out if their viceroy was really acting 
unjustly. Some people say that this nobleman did not 
even try to find out the truth, and Columbus found it 
necessary to go back to Spain with him and explain 
matters to the king and queen, leaving Bartholomew 
Columbus in charge of the colony. 

The second arrival of Columbus at court was very dif- 
ferent from the first. Instead of greeting him with cheers 
and festivities, people now looked coldly upon him and 
avoided him as much as they could. It was only three 
years since he had discovered a road across the Atlantic ; 
but as he had not yet brought back huge cargoes of spices 
and silks from India, people openly despised him. 

Although this reception cut Columbus to the heart, it 
made him all the more anxious to reach India, the goal of 
all his hopes. He therefore prepared a third expedition ; 
but this time he had so much trouble in getting funds and 
ships that it was not till May, 1498, that he could again 
set sail, with a fleet of six vessels. 

Instead of taking his usual course, Columbus steered 
directly westward from the Cape Verde Islands, and 
reached Trin-i-dad' in the middle of the summer. After 
visiting that island, he explored the gulf behind it, and 



57 



came to the mouth of the O-ri-no'co River. From the 
great volume of water, he concluded that this river must 
flow through an extensive continent, and thought it must 
surely be one of the four great streams from the Garden 
of Eden! 

Although Columbus now felt certain he had finally 
reached the mainland of Asia, he could find none of the 
rich cities he sought, and sadly went back to Haiti. There 
things had been going on worse than ever, for the Span- 
iards had mutinied, as well as the natives. 

Columbus now forwarded the most disobedient of the 
colonists to Spain. But when they got there, they com- 
plained so much about him that the king and queen again 
sent out a nobleman to see what was amiss. The Spanish 
officer no sooner reached Haiti than he took the command 
away from Columbus, who was put in irons and sent back 
to Spain to be tried there. 



>^^c 



XIV. DEATH OF COLUMBUS. 

EIGHT years after his first journey across the Atlantic 
Columbus returned to Spain a prisoner! The cap- 
tain of the vessel wanted to remove his chains, but 
Columbus proudly said that as they had been put on by 
the orders of his sovereigns, he would wear them until the 
king and queen set him free. He also added that he would 
keep those chains as long as he lived, and have them 
buried with him, so that people might know how unjustly 
he had been treated. It is said that the fetters hung 



5^ . 

six years over his bed, and that, at his request, they were 
placed in his coffin and buried with him. 

When Columbus reached Spain the sensation was great 
The people, who had been at first enthusiastic and then 
indifferent about him, were now indignant that he should 
be treated so unjustly, and when Isabella received a letter, 
telling her how he had been insulted, her heart was filled 
with pity. 

She immediately sent a messenger to remove Columbus's 
chains, and summoned him to court, where she wept with 
him when she heard him describe his sufferings. But 
although Isabella promised that his honors should all be 
given back to him, and that she would soon fit out a new 
expedition for him, she kept him waiting two long years. 

In 1502 Columbus set out on his fourth and last journey, 
not as ruler of the new lands, but merely as explorer. 
After a stormy passage, he reached the colony at Haiti, 
where the governor refused to allow him to land. Co- 
lumbus told this man that a tempest was coming up, and 
that it would not be safe for any one to leave the port. 
But the governor would not believe him, and ordered 
some Spanish vessels, which were laden with gold and 
ready to start, to set out for Spain. 

They no sooner got out of the harbor than the storm 
overtook and sorely damaged them. But Columbus, who 
had warned them of the danger, safely weathered the 
storm, and, sailing on, he explored the coast of Central 
America, still seeking a road to India. 

Columbus was now old and ill ; so after coming to a part 
of the coast which he took for the Spice Islands because 
he found spices there, and after suffering shipwreck, he 



59 

returned to Haiti and thence to Spain. There he soon 
heard that Isabella, Queen of Castile (kahs-teel') and 
Le^on (parts of Spain), was dead, and his sorrow at her loss 
made his health worse than ever. The Spaniards, know- 
ing his principal friend was gone, now treated him even 
more scornfully than before, and mockingly called him 
" Lord of Mosquito Land," because there were so many 
mosquitoes along the South American coast. 

These insults, added to his disappointment at not find- 
ing India, helped to make Columbus's illness fatal ; and 
feeling that he was about to die, he wrote his will, leaving 
his title of admiral to his son. He passed away in the 
month of May, 1506, saying: ''Into thy hands, O Lord, 
I commend my spirit." 

Buried at Valladolid (vahl-yah-do-leed'), his body was 
removed first to Se-ville', then to San'to Do-min'go, in 
Haiti, and then to Ha-van'a, in Cuba, where it remained 
until the island was relinquished by Spain (1898). After 
his death, people began to realize what a great man Co- 
lumbus was, and King Ferdinand, who had been so unkind 
to him while he lived, put up a monument in his honor, 
on which was later inscribed the motto : " To Castile and 
Leon Columbus gave a new world." 

Since then, many monuments have been erected and 
many pictures painted of the man who, in spite of poverty, 
illness, and countless obstacles, never gave up his aim, and 
manfully strove to reach it as long as he lived. His faith, 
his courage, and his perseverance have served as shining 
examples for more than four hundred years, and although 
he died poor and neglected, he is rightly considered one 
of the world's greatest men. 



6o 



XV. HOW AMERICA GOT ITS NAME. 

THE news of Columbus's first successful journey no 
sooner became known in Europe than each country 
wanted to secure some share of the profitable trade which 
they fancied would soon be opened with India. Henry 
VII., King of England, who had refused to listen to Co- 
lumbus's plan, now hired a Venetian captain named John 
Cab'ot, and sent out an expedition in 1497. 

Cabot crossed the Atlantic, and explored what he 
thought was China, but what was really part of North 
America, — probably the coast of New'found-land and of 
the mainland from Labrador to Cape Cod. Sailing along, 
he found a beautiful country, saw a bear plunge into the 
water to catch fish, and, landing at least once, planted an 
English flag upon our soil, thus taking formal possession 
of it in the name of England. 

The next year his son made a similar journey. Sail- 
ing in and out of every bay, he sought a strait which 
would take him past these wild lands to the rich cities of 
the East, which he fancied were very near there. Of 
course he failed to find such a strait between Nova Scotia 
and Cape Hat'ter-as, but the English later claimed all this 
part of the country, because it had been discovered by 
the Cabots. Still, for many years they made no attempt 
to plant a colony there, and prized their discovery so little 
that Henry VII. gave Cabot only i^io reward for all he 
had done. 

The Portuguese, as we have seen, were very jealous 
when Columbus came back from his first journey, saying 



6i 



he had found the road to India. But while he was away 
on his third expedition, one of their captains, Vasco da 
Gama (vahs'co dah gah'mah), saiHng all around Africa and 
across the Indian Ocean, reached Cari-cut in India. He 
came home in 1499, with a rich cargo of silks and spices; 
and the Portuguese rejoiced greatly that they were the 
first to reach India by sea. 

The next year some Portuguese ships, on their way 
around Africa, happened to go so far west that they sighted 
the coast of South America. Spain and Portugal had by 
this time drawn a line of demarcation on the map, agree- 
ing that all lands west of it should belong to Spain, 
and all east to Portugal. As the new land was east of 
this hne, the King of Portugal sent a fleet to explore it, 
and thus found it was a great continent. All the lands 
already discovered by the Spanish and English were sup- 
posed to form part of Asia ; but this land was so far south 
that it was called the New World. 

The pilot of the Portuguese fleet was a young Italian 
named A-mer'i-cus Ves-pu'cius. He took note of all he 
saw, and wrote an interesting account of his voyage. This 
narrative described the country, and as every one wanted 
to hear about the new discovery, it was soon published. 
A German geographer, reading the account of Americus, 
was so delighted with it that he suggested that the new 
continent should be named America, in honor of the man 
who had explored and described it so well. The name was 
thus given at first only to part of South America; but 
when, years afterwards, it was found that all the western 
lands belonged to the same continent, the whole of the 
New World was called America. Thus, by an accident, our 



62 



country bears the name of Americus, instead of that of 
Columbus, its real discoverer, for it was the latter who 
showed the way to it, although he believed till his death 
that he had found only a new road to Asia. 

Many writers claim that the first voyage of Americus 
to the West was in 1497, four years before his exploration of 
South America, and that he then landed on the American 
continent, shortly before Cabot, and more than a year be- 
fore Columbus reached the mainland. According to them, 
Americus was thus the first to reach the continent which 
bears his name. 

XVI. THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. 

THE Spaniards, as we have seen, immediately began 
planting colonies in the West Indies, and in a few 
years they took possession of all the islands, and made 
the natives their slaves. These poor creatures were 
forced to work hard for their new masters, who, thirsting 
for gold, made them wash the sands of all their streams, 
and toil without ceasing. 

The Spaniards in Cuba and Haiti, hearing many tales 
of the gold to be found in the west, soon sent out several 
expeditions. They also planted a few colonies along the 
coast of Central America, but at first these did not thrive. 

Among the colonists in Haiti .there was a Spaniard 
named Bal-bo'a. He was poor but very daring, and 
wished to join an expedition bound for the mainland. As 
he could not pay for his passage, he hid in a cask and had 
himself carried on board ship as freight. 



63 



When far out at sea Balboa crept out of his hiding 
place, won the captain's forgiveness, and soon made so 
many friends that he became a leader in the settlement 
they founded on the Isthmus of Da'ri-en, or Pan-a-ma'. 




Balboa Discovers the South Sea» 

After a time he learned from the natives that a great ocean 
lay on the other side of the ridge of mountains. He there- 
fore made his way through the tangled underbrush and 
rank tropical growth, bidding his men wait at the foot of 
the mountain, while he climbed up alone. 



64 . 

On reaching the top, he gazed southward and beheld a 
great stretch of water, which he called the Great South 
Sea (15 1 3). Falling down upon his knees, he gave thanks 
to God, and then made joyful signs to his followers to 
come up and join him. 

Accompanied by these men, Balboa next went down 
the opposite slope, and, reaching the shore, waded out into 
the ocean, with a flag in one hand and his drawn sword 
in the other. Standing thus in the waters of the Great 
South Sea, he took possession of it in the name of Spain, 
declaring that all the countries it bathed belonged to his 
sovereigns. 

That same year one of the former companions of Co- 
lumbus, Ponce de Leon, started out from Puerto Rico 
(pwer'to re'co). Like many other men of his time, he 
believed that all the stories he had heard were true, and 
that somewhere in the world there was a magic spring 
called the Fountain of Youth. He thought that if one 
drank of its waters, or bathed in them, one would be sure 
to become young again, and as he was rapidly growing 
old he longed to find and try it. 

After vainly seeking the fountain on the newly dis- 
covered islands, he fancied, from what the natives told 
him, that it might be situated on the mainland, so he set 
out in quest of it. On Easter Sunday [Pasctia floridd), 
he landed in a beautiful country, which, in honor of the 
day, he called Florida. After taking possession of it for 
Spain, he began exploring; but although he drank from 
every spring, and bathed in every stream, he could not 
find the Fountain of Youth, and kept growing older and 
older. 



65 

After several years he ifcade another journey to Florida, 
to continue his search, and to make a settlement; but as 
there were no roads through the dense forests and treach- 
erous marshes, he and his men suffered greatly from 
hunger and heat. Finally Ponce de Leon was sorely 
wounded in a fight with the Indians, and his men carried 
him back to Cuba. There he died, a wrinkled old man, 
still regretting that he had not been able to find the 
Fountain of Youth. His friends, who admired his bravery, 
and often said he was as bold as his namesake the lion, 
wrote upon his tomb : " In this sepulcher rest the bones 
of a man who was Leon [lion] by name and still more by 
nature." 

While Ponce de Leon was seeking the magic fountain, 
some of his countrymen were exploring the Gulf coast, 
from Florida to Mexico, under the leadership of Pineda 
(pe-na'da). In 15 19, also, a Portuguese, named Ma-gel'- 
lan, took a Spanish fleet down the coast of South America. 
After a time he came to the strait bearing his name, and, 
sailing through it, beheld the Great South Sea. 

Magellan was such a brave seaman that he steered boldly 
across this unknown expanse of water. It was so much 
smoother than the Atlantic that he called it the Pacific, or 
*' Peaceful " Ocean, a name which it has borne ever since, 
and which suits it much better than the one given by 
Balboa. After a journey of a year and a half, Magellan 
finally reached the Phirip-pme Islands, where he was killed 
in a fight with the natives. 

One of his of^cers now took command, and went on till 
he reached India. Thence, by way of the Cape of Good 
Hope, he came to Spain, sailing for the first time all 



66 



around the globe. Besides proving that the earth is round, 
this voyage showed that South America is separated from 
India by a great stretch of water. Magellan's journey took 
three years, but now, thanks to steamboats and railroads, 
it can be made in about two months. 



3>e^c 



XVII. "THE FATHER OF WATERS." 

THE year 15 19 was eventful for the Spanish. In that 
year Magellan started out on his journey around the 
world, Pineda explored the Gulf coast, and Cor'tez, — a 
very brave Spaniard, — landing at Vera Cruz (va'rah 
croos), marched into the country and took Mexico, the 
city of a great Indian chief named Mon-te-zu'ma. 

Although Cortez had only five hundred men, and the 
Indians were very numerous, he soon became master of 
the whole country, which belonged to Spain for many a 
year. The Indians in Mexico were partly civilized, and 
the region was rich in gold and precious stones. Another 
Spaniard, named Pi-zar'ro, shortly after conquered Fe-ru', 
and owing to the cargoes of gold constantly sent from 
Mexico, Peru, and other parts of the newly discovered lands, 
Spain soon became the wealthiest country in Europe. 

Although the Spaniards were anxious to grow rich, they 
also wished to convert the natives. Besides soldiers and 
colonists, therefore, every vessel brought out priests to 
convert the heathen. These men were very good, and so 
fearless that they went everywhere, preaching and teach- 
ing with great zeal. 



67 

They tried to learn the natives' language, and often 
questioned the people about the country. All that they 
heard they repeated to their leaders, who, finding there 
was much gold in the northwest, resolved to go in search 
of it. A party headed by Narvaez (nar-vah'eth) set out, 
therefore, to explore and conquer the northern coast of 
the Gulf of Mexico. 

But Narvaez was very unfortunate. While he was in- 
land his ships sailed on, and when he came back to the 
shore they were out of sight. Painfully making his way 
along through the tangled woods for many miles, he. fi- 
nally reached the coast again and built a second fleet. This, 
however, was wrecked at the mouth of the Mississippi 
(** The Father of Waters "), where Narvaez was drowned. 

Four of the followers of Narvaez, narrowly escaping 
death, soon after fell into the hands of the Indians. By 
pretending to be magicians, these men made the Indians 
fear them. They lived eight years among various savage 
tribes, wandering all across the continent to the Gulf of 
Cal-i-for'ni-a, and finally came back to Mexico, where 
their leader, Cabeza de Vaca (cah-ba'sah da vah^cah), told 
their adventures to the Spaniards. He was the first 
European to visit the region between the Mississippi and 
California, and it is said that he tramped more than ten 
thousand miles during those eight years of captivity. 

The tales told by Vaca and his companions made the 
Spaniards long to visit the country and find the Seven 
Cities of Cibola (see'bo-lah), where they fancied they could 
secure much gold. A priest named Mar'cos there- 
fore set out to question and convert the natives. Taking 
one of Vaca's companions, a negro servant, as guide, 

STO. OF 7HIR. COL. — 5 



68 



Marcos wandered on foot into New Mexico, where he saw 
from afar seven Zuni (zoo'nyee) pueblos, or villages. 

Hearing from the Indians that these were the Seven 
Cities of Cibola, he went back to report what he had seen. 
A Spaniard named Coronado (co-ro-nah'tho) now set out 
with an army of about two hundred and fifty men. He 
made his way into the new country, visited the Cibola 
pueblos, and hearing wonderful tales of Acoma (ah'co-ma), 
a city built in the skies, set out to find it. After many 
hardships, he and his little army came into a wide valley, 
in 4:he center of which rose a huge rock, with straight sides 
more than three hundred feet high, and with a broad fiat 
top of about seventy acres. 

On the top of this rock the Indians had built one of 
their cliff dwellings, which they reached by narrow rocky 
stairways. Coronado visited this strange city, but find- 
ing the people poor, and hearing there was gold farther 
north, he pressed on, and even came to the Grand Canyon 
of the Col-o-ra'do. 

While Coronado was thus exploring much of the south- 
western part of our country, another Spaniard, De So'to, 
- — who had helped conquer Peru, — set out from Cuba 
with nine vessels and an army of nearly a thousand men. 
He landed in Tam^pa Bay, and, searching for gold, wan- 
dered for three years through the forests of Florida, 
Geor'gi-a, Al-a-ba'ma, and Mississippi. Often attacked 
by hostile Indians, and suffering greatly from hunger and 
sickness, he nevertheless reached the Mississippi River, and 
crossed it near Lower Chick'a-saw Bluffs. 

But hecould not find the El Do-ra'do, or '* Land of Gold," 
he was seeking, and after exploring the region between 



6g 



the Missouri and the Red rivers, and losing many men, 
he resolved to turn back. Before long, hov^ever, De Soto 
died of malaria (1541), and the Spaniards, after secretly 




De Soto's First View of tiie Mississippi. 

burying him, told the Indians he had gone on a long 
journey. But when they saw that the savages did not 
believe them, and gazed suspiciousl}^ at the upturned soil, 
they began to fear the Indians would treat De Soto's 
remains shamefully. 

In the middle of the night, therefore, they took their 
dead leader up out of his grave, and wrapped him in a 
cloak weighted with sand. Then, rowing out into the 
Mississippi, they noiselessly lowered his body into the 
middle of the great stream which he had been the first 
European to visit since the Spaniards were shipwrecked 
at its mouth in 15 19. 

His little army, after making a desperate attempt to 



7° . 

retrace Its way overland, came back to the Mississippi. 
Here the Spaniards built huge rafts, and, floating down 
the stream, reached its mouth at the end of nineteen days. 
Then, coasting along the Gulf, they made their way to a 
Mexican settlement, where they told the story of all their 
adventures during this long search for gold. 



3>*:c 



XVIII. THE FRENCH IN CANADA. 

COLUMBUS had been dead for nearly fifty years, 
and yet people were only just beginning to explore 
that part of the New World which is occupied by our 
country. But the coast of South America was quite well 
known by this time, and already clearly outlined on maps, 
while North America was still a mystery. 

Most people still fancied that North America was only 
a narrow strip of land, Hke Central America. They also 
thought that somewhere north of the Gulf of Mexico there 
must be a strait, by means of which it would be easy to 
pass into the Pacific Ocean, and thereby reach India with- 
out taking the long journey all around South America. 

The navigators who visited the coast of North America 
in search of this strait, spoke, on their return, of the great 
quantities of fish they had seen. Even the Cabots had found 
many fish there. Now, all the Christian people in western 
Europe were Roman Catholics in those days, and so ate 
fish instead of meat on fast days, which were so many 
that they took up about one third of the time. Fish was 
therefore in great demand. 



71 

As the rivers did not supply enough, fishing soon became 
a paying trade for those who hved by the sea ; and because 
many fish were found on the coasts of Brit'ta-ny, in France, 
the Bret^on fishermen did a good business. Still, when 
they heard of great schools of codfish on the Banks of 
Newfoundland, which could be caught and salted very 
easily, these bold fishermen were anxious to secure them. 
They therefore began to make fishing trips across the 
Atlantic, and before long gave their name to Cape 
Breton. 

France and Spain often waged costly wars, and seeing 
that the Spaniards received much gold from the New World, 
the French longed to have some of it, too. Their king, 
therefore, said that he had as good a right to any undis- 
covered land as the Spaniards, and that the latter should 
not be allowed to keep the New World all to themselves. 

Next, he sent out an expedition under Verrazano (ver- 
rah-tsah'no), who explored the coast of North America 
from what is now North Car-o-li^na to Newfoundland. 
Some historians say that this captain finally fell into the 
hands of cannibal Indians, who devoured him in the sight 
of his helpless crew ; but others declare that Verrazano 
was caught by the Spaniards during a war with France, 
and hanged as a pirate. 

The French were not discouraged, however. A few 
years after the death of Verrazano they sent out another 
expedition, in charge of Cartier (car-tya'). After sailing 
nearly all the way around Newfoundland, this explorer, 
in 1534, came to the mainland, set up a huge wooden 
cross, and took possession of the country, in the name 
of France. The next year he came back, and, sailing 



^2 



Up the St. Lawrence River, gave it that name because it 
was Saint Lawrence's day in the calendar. He visited 
the place where Que-bec' now stands, and went on up 
the stream until he came to an Indian village, composed 
of several long houses surrounded by a palisade. 

Near this village there was a hill which Cartier climbed, 
and when his eyes rested upon the beautiful view at his 




Niagara Falls. 



feet, he exclaimed that this was truly a Mont-re-al', or 
royal mountain. A city built some time after on this very 
spot still bears the name he gave the place. 

After spending a short time on the St. Lawrence, Cartier 
went back to France, taking several Indians with him. 
Some of these savages died, and when Cartier returned 



73 

without them, and tried to estau-e not good Catholics, 
trouble with their relatives. Cartier the co^-c^^nd.me of 
Can'a-da to part of the country, and in talking with the 
Indians learned that far inland there was a huge water- 
fall, whose roar could be heard many miles away. Indeed, 
some of the Indians called it Ni-ag'a-ra, which in EngHsh 
means "The Thunder of Waters." 

Although Cartier longed to see this wonder, he had no 
time to visit it, and as the climate proved too cold for his 
men, he went back to France, saying it would not be 
possible to plant a colony so far north. For the next few 
years, therefore, the French had only a few trading posts 
along the St. Lawrence River, where the Indians came at 
certain times to exchange the furs of the animals they had 
killed for the beads and trinkets they loved so well. 



o-^^c 



XIX. FRENCH AND SPANISH QUARRELS. 

TWENTY years passed by before the French again 
attempted to plant a colony in America — twenty very 
eventful years for France and for all western Europe. 
The people, who, as you have heard, had all been Roman 
Catholics for centuries, now began to divide. Some of 
them refused to obey the pope, and wanted to worship in 
a somewhat different way. In France these people were 
called Hu^gue-nots, and among them was a nobleman 
named Coligny (co-leen'ye). 

Seeing that the Huguenots were much disliked in 
their own country, Coligny proposed that they should go 



74 

- the St. Lawrence ^^ ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^y ^^^^^ ^hey could 
worship do r ^. -„.ased without offending any one. As 
Cartier said the cHmate was too cold in Canada, Cohgny 
sent the Huguenots farther south, in charge of Laudon- 
niere (lo-do-ne-ar') and Ribault (re-bo'). 

The French colonists, landing in the New World, called 
the country Carolina, in honor of their king, Charles, and 
they also gave this name to their fort. But they soon 
lacked food and became discouraged. As the vessel in 
which they had come had sailed away, they built a new 
ship and set out for France. At sea, lack of provisions 
soon brought them to such desperate straits that they 
drew lots and ate one of their number. In fact, had they 
not been taken prisoners by an English ship, it is very 
likely they would all have died of hunger. 

Two years later another French settlement of the same 
name was made in Florida, on the St. Johns River. As 
soon as the colonists were comfortably settled, Ribault 
went off to punish some Spaniards for attacking his fleet in 
time of peace. But while he was away the Spaniards came 
by land to surprise the Huguenot settlement. 

Now, you must know that the Spaniards were ardent 
Roman Catholics, so they considered it very wicked to 
refuse to obey the pope. Besides, they hated the French, 
with whom they had often been at war, and claimed 
Florida as their own land because Ponce de Leon had 
visited it first. They were so sure, therefore, that they 
were doing right by killing the French Huguenots, that 
when the massacre was all over, their leader, Menendez 
(ma-nen'deth) put up a sign on a tree near by, saying 
that he had slain the colonists, not because they were 



75 



Frenchmen, but because they were not good CathoHcs. 
This done, Menendez went back to the colony of St. 
Au'gus-tine, which he had founded two years before (1565) 
in Florida. This is the oldest city in the United States, 
and it still proudly bears the name given by Menendez, 
its Spanish founder. 




Old Spanish Mission at St. Augustine. 



The news of the massacre of the Huguenot colonists 
was received with great indignation in France. As the 
king would take no steps to avenge it, a nobleman named 
De Gourgues (goorg) fitted out an expedition at his own 
expense, and attacked the Spaniards on the St. Johns. 
He came upon them unawares, and killed them all, as they 
had murdered the Huguenots at the same place. Then he 
placed a sign above the heads of the men he had hanged, 



76 

saying they had been executed, not because they were 
Spaniards, but because they were pirates and murderers. 
De Gourgues then sailed away, for the Spaniards had so 
strong a fort at St. Augustine that the French had given 
up all hope of settling in Florida. 

Four years after founding St. Augustine, the Spaniards 
planted the colony of San Diego in California, which, 
however, was soon abandoned. Their next colony was 
started many years later at Santa Fe (fa'), in New Mexico, 
and thence many priests went out to build mission stations 
in the West and convert the Indians. 

The present city of Santa Fe, the second oldest 
town in the United States, was founded in 1598 by a 
Spaniard named Onate (on-yah'ta), who had married the 
granddaughter of Cortez, conqueror of Mexico. This 
Ofiate had helped the Spaniards conquer Peru. He was 
a very brave man, and hearing about the " Sky City " of 
Acoma, he resolved to visit it. About fifty years after 
Coronado, therefore, he came within sight of the strange 
town perched upon a rock. 

The Indians, who by this time had learned to fear and 
hate the Spaniards, thought this would be a good chance 
to kill their greatest foe. So they invited Onate up into 
their city, and showed him their cisterns and granaries. 
Then, taking him to the top of one of their great houses, 
they bade him step down through an open trapdoor into 
a dark chamber. 

Onate, suspecting treachery, refused to enter, and it 
was well for him that he did so, for a number of armed 
Indians were lurking there in the darkness, ready to kill 
the Spaniards as soon as they set foot in the apartment. 



n 



XX. THE SKY CITY. 



ALTHOUGH Onate cleverly escaped being murdered 
/V by the Indians in Acoma, another Spanish captain, 
Zaldivar (thahl-de Var), was less fortunate, a short time after. 
He and half his force imprudently ventured up on the rock ; 
but instead of staying together, as Oiiate's troops had done, 
they scattered to view the strange place. The Indians 
took advantage of this to pounce upon their unsuspecting 
guests, at a given signal, and began killing them. 

The Spaniards, clad in armor, defended themselves 
heroically ; but many fell, and the last five were driven to 
the very edge of the rock and forced to jump down. But, 
strange to relate, only one of these men was killed. The 
others fell into a heap of fine sand, which the wind had 
piled up against the base of the great rock. 

These men were promptly rescued by their comrades, 
who, knowing this attempt would be followed by a general 
attack upon all the missions, hastened back to warn Onate 
of his peril. After taking immediate measures to protect 
the priests, Onate sent a force of seventy men, under Zal- 
divar's brother, to punish the people of Acoma. 

The Indians, warned of the Spaniards' coming, closely 
guarded their rocky staircases. When the second Zaldivar 
summoned them to surrender, they mocked him, bade their 
medicine men curse him, and flung showers of arrows and 
stones down upon him. The Spaniards, unable to reach 
their foes, were obliged to take refuge under the over- 
hanging rock to escape the missiles hurled down upon 
them. 



78 

All night long they heard the shrieks of the Indians. 
They were holding a monster war dance overhead, and 
fiercely illustrating the tortures they meant to make the 
Spaniards suffer the next day. This prospect, however, 
did not frighten Zaldivar's brave men, and while their foes 
shouted and danced, they made a clever plan to surprise 
the city. 

Early the next day, Zaldivar and part of his force pre- 
tended to storm the north side of the rock. But while 
they were thus engaging the attention of the Indians, 
twelve of their number slowly crawled up a neighboring 
pinnacle of rock, dragging a small cannon after them. No 
one noticed what they were doing, and it was only when 
the cannon was in place, and the first stone ball came 
crashing into the adobe houses, that the Indians perceived 
their danger. 

The rock upon which the Spaniards had planted their 
cannon was on a level with Acoma, separated from it by 
a chasm only a few feet wide but about three hundred 
feet deep. From this point the Spaniards shot ball after 
ball into the town. When night came on, they crept down 
again, cut several trees, dragged the trunks up to the top 
of their rock, and at dawn flung one of them across the 
abyss. 

In spite of a hail of stones and arrows hurled by the 
Indians, twelve Spaniards rushed boldly across this dizzy 
bridge before the log was accidentally jerked out of place 
by one of their number. Cut off from their companions, 
and unable to retreat, these brave men were now in great 
danger, for they had to face all those raging savages alone. 

Seeing their peril, one of their comrades drew back as 



79 

far as he could on the outlying rock, and rushing forward 
took a flying leap across the chasm ! By great good for- 
tune he landed safely on the other side, drew the log into 
place once more, and thus enabled the other Spaniards to 
cross with their cannon. 

One house after another was now battered down, and at 
the end of three days' hard fighting the Spaniards were com- 
plete masters of the Sky City of Acoma. But they soon 
left it, and many ye^ars later, when Fray Ramirez (rah- 
me'reth), a Spanish priest, came thither and began climbing 
the staircase, the Indians tried to keep him away by fling- 
ing a shower of stones down upon him. 

Spanish priests, however, were ready to risk everything 
for the sake of their religion, so Fray Ramirez calmly 
continued to climb up. In the general excitement a little 
Indian girl drew too near to the edge of the rock, and, 
losing her balance, fell over! Although her people fan- 
cied she had fallen to the ground and been killed, she had 
only dropped to a narrow ledge, where they could not see 
her. Fray Ramirez, looking upward, saw the accident. 
Climbing carefully along the ledge, he picked up the little 
maiden, and soon reappeared on the staircase, carrying 
her on his shoulder. 

The Indians, believing the child dead, now cried out 
that this was a miracle, and suddenly ceased throwing 
stones. When the priest reached the plateau they ran to 
meet him, listened quietly to his teachings, and even built 
a church in Acoma under his directions. And it is in 
memory of his coming among them that the stone stairway 
of Acoma is still known as the *' Path of the Father." 



8o 



XXI. AROUND THE WORLD. 

AFTER the voyages of the Cabots in 1497-1498, the 
^ EngHsh for some time took Httle interest in the New 
World. But in the middle of the sixteenth century sev- 
eral noted seamen visited America. One of these men 
was Hawkins, who brought over from Africa a cargo of 
negroes. He sold these as slaves to the Spaniards in the 
West Indies. 

Until then prisoners of war had often been sold as 
slaves, and the Indians on the newly discovered islands 
had, as we have seen, found cruel taskmasters in the 
colonists. But as these savages were not used to hard 
work, they soon died. 

Hawkins fancied he was doing a very wise thing in 
bringing negroes over from Africa to replace them. In- 
deed, he was so proud of this idea that he had a slave 
painted on his coat of arms, and said, like Columbus, that 
it was much better for the negroes to be slaves among 
Christians than free among heathens. 

It was thus that the negro slave trade began, and for 
two hundred and fifty years slave ships plied to and fro 
across the Atlantic Ocean, bringing over countless colored 
people, who were sold first to the Spaniards and later to 
the Americans. 

The English were so anxious to discover a northwest 
passage to India (that is, a way to sail through or around 
the northern part of America) that they sent Frob'ish-er 
out to search for it in 1576. He sailed northward until 
he came to the bay which still bears his name. He landed 



8i 



there, and, to his delight, found some yellow ore, which he 
carried home. This was what is now known as fool's 
gold, or pyrites; but the English, thinking it was real gold, 
quickly sent out a ship to bring home a whole cargo of 
the worthless stuff. 

. Some time after this visit of Frobisher's, Da'vis sailed 
still farther north, only to be driven back by the ice in the 
strait which still bears his name. Although he did not 
know it, Davis had discovered the entrance to the long- 
sought northwest passage ; but it could never be used to 
reach Asia, as people hoped, on account of the great 
icebergs which block it up nearly all the year. 

Another great English seaman of this time was Francis 
Drake, who first sailed with the slave trader Hawkins. 
When he came to the Spanish settlements in the West 
Indies and Mexico, and saw how much gold was shipped 
to Spain, he wanted to get some of it for hi? country, too. 
He therefore set out with several vessels, and although 
war had not yet been declared between England and 
Spain, he boldly attacked the Spanish colonies and ships, 
and secured much booty. 

When war broke out Drake became more daring than 
ever, and running unexpectedly into the Spanish ports, 
he began plundering. Then, setting fire to the shipping, 
he sailed off again, after thus " singeing the King of 
Spain's beard," as he called it. During one of his many 
journeys, Drake landed on the Isthmus of Panama, where, 
climbing the mountains, he was the first Englishman to 
behold the Pacific Ocean, about fifty years after it had 
been seen by Balboa. 

In the course of his piratical expeditions Drake sailed 



82 



through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean, 
and, after securing much booty from the Spaniards in 
Peru, coasted about until he came to the Californian bay 
which still bears his name. He called this part of the 
country New Al'bi-on, and made such friends with the 
Indians there that they invited him to stay and be their 
king. 

But Drake was anxious to carry his treasures home, 
and as he knew a Spanish fleet was lying in wait for him 
near the Strait of Magellan, he boldly crossed the Pacific, 
and went b^ck by way of the Cape of Good Hope. He 

was thus, as he said, the first Eng- 
lishman who " plowed a furrow 
around the globe." Queen E-lIz'- 
a-beth was so proud of this fact 
that she knighted Drake on board 
of his own ship, the Pelican, and 
graciously accepted all the stolen 
jewels he gave her (1580). 

The Pelican was carefully pre- 
served for about one hundred 
years, and when it fell to pieces a 
chair was made from its timbers, 
and given to the Oxford Univer- 
sity, where it can still be seen. 
As for Drake, he lived to continue his journeys some time 
longer, and to take part in the great naval battle against 
the Spanish Ar-ma'da; and he finally perished while on 
his way to make an attack on the West Indies. 




The Pelican Chair. 



83 



XXII. NOTHING BUT SMOKE. 

THE greatest of all the English seamen of this time 
was Sir Walter Raleigh (raw'ly). A poet, philoso- 
pher, historian, courtier, and colonizer, Raleigh was also 
a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. We are told that he won 
this lady's approval by once spreading his new cloak on 
the ground so that she might pass dry-shod over a muddy 
spot. 

Raleigh's great ambition was to '* plant an English na- 
tion in America." He and his half-brother, Sir Humphrey 
Girbert, therefore obtained Elizabeth's permission to 
start a colony in any part of the New World not yet 
occupied by any other Christian power. Then Gilbert 
started across the Atlantic with several ships and took 
possession of Newfoundland. While cruising near there, 
one of his vessels was wrecked. 

On his return voyage his little fleet was overtaken by a 
storm. Gilbert was on a leaky vessel, but as the other 
ships were not large enough to contain all his men, he 
refused to leave it for a safer one. When they told him 
that he was in great danger, he quietly answered, " Heaven 
is as near by water as by land," and calmly went on read- 
ing his Bible. The storm increased. All at once the other 
boats missed the light of Gilbert's ship ! They peered anx- 
iously out into the darkness, but all in vain, for the vessel 
had sunk with its brave captain and all its crew. 

Undaunted by this first failure, Raleigh soon sent out a 
new expedition. It brought back such favorable reports 
of the coast farther south that Raleigh named the country 

STO. OF THIR. COT. — 6 







c 



(S4) 



Virgin'i-a, in honor of Elizabeth, the virgin (or unmarried) 
queen, who gave him a grant of land there. 

Among other strange things, Raleigh's explorers brought 
back potatoes, which had never yet been seen in England. 
Raleigh planted these on his estate in Ireland, where 
people were at first afraid to eat them, lest they should be 
poisonous. Before long, however, potatoes became so 
common that they have been the chief food of the Irish 
peasants for many a year. 

The first colony established by Raleigh, on Ro-a-noke' 
Island, in what is now North Carolina, suffered many 
hardships. The people were so discouraged by the time 
Drake came to visit them, that they persuaded him to 
carry them back to England. Then a second colony was 
started on the same spot, which thus became the home of 
the first little English baby born in our country. She 
was called Virginia, in honor of her birthplace. 

A war with Spain prevented Raleigh's sending suppHes 
to this colony for several years, and when the grandfather 
of the first English-American child finally visited Roanoke, 
little Virginia had vanished, as well as all the rest of the 
colonists. No one has ever known what became of them, 
but it is supposed that they were all killed by the Indians. 
The only trace ever found was one word carved on a big 
tree, the name of the neighboring village of Croa-tan'. 

These ventures, and his many journeys, made Raleigh 
so poor that he finally had to give up all his rights to 
the land. 

As we have seen, Raleigh was a great favorite of the 
queen, therefore many stories are told about him. For 
instance, it is related that he was the first Englishman to 



86 



use tobacco, which the Indians said "cured being tired." 
One day, when Raleigh was smoking in his room, a new 
servant came in with a pitcher of water. Seeing smoke 
come out of his master's mouth and nose, the man fancied 
that Raleigh was on fire, and hastily upset the water on his 
head to put out the flames! 

We are also told that Raleigh taught Queen Elizabeth 
how to smoke, and that they two enjoyed many a pipe 
together. On one occasion Raleigh made a bet with the 
queen that he could tell the exact weight of the smoke 
from her pipe. First he carefully weighed the tobacco 
she put in her pipe ; then, when she was through smoking, 
he weighed the ashes, and won his wager by telling her that 
the difference in weight between tobacco and ashes was 
that of the smoke! Elizabeth paid the money cheerfully, 
but remarked that, while she had often heard of turning 
gold into smoke, he was the first who had turned smoke 
into gold. 

About twenty years after Raleigh founded his first 
colony, another English seaman, named Gos'nold, decided 
that it was very foolish to take the roundabout way by 
Iceland or the Azores Islands to reach America. He 
therefore boldly steered straight across the Atlantic, thus 
shortening the trip by about one thousand miles. 

The first land he saw he named Cape Cod, because he 
found so many codfish there. Soon after he stopped on 
Cut'ty-hunk Island, near the coast, where he built a house. 
Then, after securing a cargo of sassafras, which was at 
that time used as a medicine for almost every disease, 
Gosnold sailed home, leaving his house tenantless. 



87 



XXIII. SMITH'S ADVENTURES. 

SIR WALTER RALEIGH was in favor as long as 
Elizabeth lived, but when she died he was accused of 
treason and put in prison by James I. While in his cell this 
brave man wrote a history of the world for young Prince 
Henry, who often visited him, and longed to free him. He 
once said : " Only such a king as my father would keep such 
a bird in such a cage." The same monarch finally ordered 
Raleigh to be put to death. Mounting the scaffold, the 
prisoner asked to see the ax, and, running his finger along 
its edge to test its keenness, said : " This is a sharp medi- 
cine, but a cure for all evils." 

Before going to prison Raleigh had given up all his 
claims in America to EngHsh merchants. They formed 
two bodies, the London Company and the Plym'outh Com- 
pany, and persuaded the king to give each of them a 
piece of land in North America one hundred miles square. 

This matter being decided, the London Company sent 
out a shipload of settlers, who, in 1607, sailed into Ches'a- 
peake Bay. They called the capes on either side Charles 
and Henry, in honor of the two princes ; then, passing up 
a river, they landed on a marshy cape, where they founded 
the first lasting English colony in the United States. 
River and town were both named after King James, who 
had selected their officers and made their laws. 

The James'town colonists were nearly all gentlemen, 
who had come without their families because they intended 
to stay only long enough to get rich. As there were only 
four carpenters among them, these men were kept very 



88 

• 

busy. But, instead of building comfortable houses, and 
plowing and sowing, the rest of the settlers spent all their 
time looking for gold. The result was that their supplies 
gave out, and as the Indians were unfriendly and would 
not give them food, they were soon in danger of starving. 
Besides, Jamestown was on low, damp ground, and the 
water was so bad that the ill-fed people suffered from 
malaria, and about half of them died. 

Among the Englishmen who had come to Virginia there 
was Captain John Smith. This man had been a soldier, had 
traveled a great deal, and had visited France, Italy, and 
E'gypt 

We are told that while he was on his way to Egypt 
a great storm once overtook his ship. The pilgrims on 
the vessel cried out that there must be a wrongdoer, or a 
Jonah, among them, and in their terror proposed to draw 
lots. Finding out thus that Smith was the guilty person, 
they hastily pitched him overboard. But although there 
was no whale to swallow him. Smith m,anaged to swim 
ashore, and some time later, longing for more adventures, 
he went to fight in Hun'ga-ry. 

Here he declared that the teachings of Christ were far 
better than those of Mo-ham'med, and offered to prove it 
by fighting three Turks. He killed them all, but, being 
wounded, was soon made a prisoner and sold as a slave. 
One day, when Smith was threshing in the field, his cruel 
taskmaster beat him severely, although he had done 
nothing wrong. Indignant at this unjust treatment. 
Smith suddenly raised his flail, and struck the Turk such 
a hard blow that the man fell to the ground dead. 

Seeing a chance to escape, Smith now quickly ex- 



89 

changed clothes with the dead man, hid the latter's body 
under the straw, filled a bag with corn, and jumping on 
a horse rode rapidly away across the plains. After many 
days of hard riding, he came to a place where his chains 
were struck off, and thence continued his journey home. 

After several other journeys and adventures, Smith 
joined the newly formed London Company, proposing to 
go out himself with the colonists. On the way to Vir- 
ginia he was falsely accused of crime, and nearly hanged ; 
but when he reached land his innocence was proved, and 
he soon became the leading spirit of Jamestown. 

Through all the sickness and famine Smith alone seemed 
brave and strong. Hoping to secure food for the 
colonists, he once set out to find the Indians and trade 
with them for corn. But at the approach of the Enghsh, 
we are told that the savages ran away in such haste that 
they left their dinner on the fire. The colonists, drawing 
near, saw that the Indians had been roasting oysters, and, 
tasting them for the first time in their lives, were deHghted 
to discover a new and delicious kind of food. After 
shooting a few turkeys, the English overtook these Indians, 
from whom they managed to get quite a supply of corn in 
exchange for trinkets and a copper kettle. 

In another expedition Captain Smith was surprised by 
the Indians while he stood in a marsh, picking berries. 
He seized one of the savages and held him fast, using him 
as a shield against the arrows of the rest until surrounded 
and made a prisoner. 

Instead of showing angeror resisting, Smith now followed 
his captors quietly, allowing them to touch and examine 
him as much as they pleased. He also tried to interest 



90 

them by showing them his compass and explaining its use. 
Besides, he made friends with the Indian children and 
whittled playthings for them. All the prettiest ones, how- 
ever, were set aside for Po-ca-hon'tas, the twelve-year-old 
daughter of the Indian chief Pow-ha-tan' ; and it seems 
she was specially pleased with the wooden doll he made 
for her. 




Smith and Pocahontas. 

We are told that Pocahontas soon grew very fond of 
Captain Smith, and that when the Indians once tried to 
kill him, she stood between him and their raised toma- 
hawks, pleading so hard for his life that her father declared 
the white man should not be slain. But this story is also 
told of several other explorers, and we do not know if it 
is quite true. 



91 



XXIV. THE JAMESTOWN MEN. 

AFTER several weeks of captivity Captain Smith bar- 
1^. gained with the Indians to set him free, in exchange 
for a certain number of trinkets and one of the bright 
brass cannons they had seen at Jamestown. This settled, 
he wrote a letter to the colonists, telling them what trin- 
kets they were to give the bearers, and warning them to 
be sure to shoot off the cannon in the Indians' presence, 
so that they should not dare carry it off. 

Having finished his letter, Smith gave it to his captors, 
bidding them take it to Jamestown. He added that it 
would tell the English what they wanted, and that they 
would hear the big noise which came out of the bright log 
(cannon) they coveted. All this, of course, seemed very 
mysterious to people who did not know how to write, so 
they set out for Jamestown full of curiosity. 

When they saw that the white men, after looking at the 
letter, gave them all the trinkets they had bargained for, 
they were amazed. Then they tried to lift the bright log, 
and were surprised at its weight. Motioning them aside, 
the colonists next shot off the cannon. The loud noise, and 
the fact that the cannon ball splintered a good-sized tree, 
filled the Indians with such terror that, as Smith had 
foreseen, they refused to touch it again. When they got 
back to their camp they let Captain Smith go, and he bade 
a friendly good-by to the red men, from whom he had 
learned all he could during his short sojourn in their 
midst. 

Free once more, Captain Smith used all his energies to 



92 

get enough grain for his friends ; but had it not been for 
the Indian girl Pocahontas the colonists would probably 
have starved to death. Several times, in the course of that 
first hard winter, she brought them game and corn, and, 
thanks to her pleading, her father Powhatan became quite 
friendly, and supplied their most pressing needs. 

In 1608 more colonists came over to Jamestown in 
search of gold ; but they, too, were gentlemen, and in- 
tended to remain only a short time. They unfortunately 
discovered some pyrites, and in spite of all Captain Smith 
could say, there was " no talk, no hope, no work, but dig 
gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold." The result was 
that the vessel in which they had come was sent home 
laden with worthless dirt, instead of carrying a cargo of 
lumber, sassafras, or furs, which could have been sold in 
England for considerable money. 

The only man who did not share this thirst for gold 
was Captain Smith. He continued his explorations, and 
made a complete map of Chesapeake Bay to send back 
to England. Then, the governor having sailed away with 
the fool's gold, and the others having proved bad man- 
agers, Smith was soon chosen to be head of the colony. 

He began his work by making a few very strict rules, 
which all the colonists had to obey. The fine English 
gentlemen, who had spent their time playing bowls in the 
streets of Jamestown, priding themselves upon never having 
done any labor, were now told that if they would not 
work they should not eat. 

To stop the constant swearing in which these men 
freely indulged. Captain Smith next ordered that a canful 
of cold water should be poured down any offender's sleeve. 



93 



This soon put an end to profanity, and by the time a third 
set of colonists reached Jamestown it was quite an orderly 
community. 

Two women came out with these last-mentioned settlers 
to make real homes in Jamestown, the first English city 




Crowning: Powhatan. 



in what is now the United States. The same ship also 
brought over presents from King James to the Indian 
King Powhatan. These were a bed, basin and pitcher, a 
coat trimmed with gold lace, and a crown. 

Powhatan was therefore solemnly invited to Jamestown, 
to receive these gifts and be crowned. The Indian chief 
was greatly pleased with his fine red coat. But no one 



94 

could make him understand that he must kneel to receive 
his crown. Finally, in despair, the colonists standing on 
either side of him leaned so heavily upon his shoulders 
that they forced him to bend the knee before the governor, 
who quickly crowned him. 

To the savages' great delight, drums were loudly beaten 
in honor of King Powhatan, but when the cannon was 
shot off, too, the newly crowned king of Virginia was so 
amazed that he almost fell over backward. When he had 
recovered from his fright Powhatan gave the governor his 
old moccasins, or shoes, and a tattered and dirty robe of 
raccoon skins, telling him to send them to King James in 
return for his gifts! 



3>^C 



XXV. SMITH WOUNDED. 

THE last Jamestown settlers brought over letters in 
which the English merchants asked for gold, and 
urged the colonists to make diligent search for a passage 
to India, where so much money could be made by trading 
for silks, pearls, and spices. In obedience to these orders, 
a new excursion was tried, but of course no such pas- 
sage was ever found on the coast of Virginia. 

When the ships went back to England, Smith sent a 
letter to the company, begging them to send out farmers, 
carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, and men to cut down 
trees, rather than so many fine gentlemen who did not 
know how to work. 



95 

Then, as soon as the ships had gone, Captain Smith set 
all the colonists to work building houses, planting corn, 
and working hard in many ways, so as to supply their 
daily needs. He also ordered that the Indians should be 
treated kindly. But the settlers, thinking they knew 
better than he, refused to work, and treated the Indians 
so unjustly that they secretly planned to kill all the 
English. 

We are told that this plot was overheard by Pocahontas. 
She ran through the forest all alone, one dark night, and, 
coming to Jamestown, secretly told Captain Smith of his 
peril. He was so grateful to Pocahontas for her warning 
that he wanted to give her a present ; but she refused it, 
saying that if her people saw it they would suspect she 
had betrayed them. 

By Captain Smith's wise measures, the Indians were 
awed into good behavior, and for a time Jamestown was safe. 
But, unfortunately, a terrible accident soon happened to 
the brave man who had been the life of the colony. A 
gun, shot off by accident, set fire to the powder in a boat 
where Smith lay asleep. He was badly wounded, and 
would have been burned to death had he not had the 
presence of mind to roll out of the boat into the water. 

There were no good doctors in Jamestown, and as the 
wound in his thigh did not heal, Captain Smith sailed 
back to England in the next vessel, never to visit James- 
town again. But when quite cured he explored the north- 
east coast of our country, and drew a good map of it, 
calling that part of America New England. It was in 
reward for this service that the king gave him the title of 
** Admiral of New England." Being now too old to con- 



96 

tinue his journeys any longer, Smith spent the rest of his 
life in writing an account of his travels and of the founding 
of Jamestown. 

Some people say that Captain Smith, like many sailors, 
was so fond of spinning yarns that he did not always tell 
the exact truth. He cannot have been a bad man, how- 
ever, for when he died, those who had gone out to James- 
town with him said that he hated baseness, laziness, pride, 
and falsehood ; that he never sent any one into a danger 
he was not ready to share ; that he was strictly honest in 
all his dealings; and that he loved actions more than 
words ; and he was honored and mourned by all. Brave 
Captain Smith was buried in London, where his friends 
placed this inscription over his grave : " Here lies one 
conquered, that hath conquered kings." 

After Captain Smith left them, the Jamestown colonists 
became idler than ever, and treated the Indians so unkindly 
that even Pocahontas refused to visit them any more. 
The result was that they could not buy any corn, and as 
they had no crops of their own, they had so little food, 
when winter came, that only sixty out of about six hun- 
dred colonists managed to live. 

This terrible winter in Jamestown is known in history 
as ** Starvation Time ; " and some people say that the 
settlers became so desperate from hunger that they actu- 
ally turned cannibals. Their sufferings were so great that 
those who survived determined to go home in the spring. 
So they put their scant stock of provisions on board their 
ships, and prepared to sail. 

But before leaving they wanted to set fire to the houses 
they had built, and destroy the place where " none had 



97 



enjoyed one happy day." The governor, however, re- 
fused to let them do this. To make sure his orders should 
not be disobeyed, he embarked last, after seeing that all 
was safe. 

The little band of discouraged settlers now sailed slowly 
down the James River. But on reaching its mouth, they 
were overjoyed to meet three ships coming from England, 
with a stock of provisions and many new colonists. They 
therefore turned around and went back to Jamestown, 
where, you may be sure, they were very thankful to find 
their houses still standing and all ready to receive them. 



3>«^<: 



XXVI. THE VISIT OF POCAHONTAS TO 
ENGLAND. 

ANEW governor, named Dale, now took charge of the 
Jamestown colony, and seeing that the colonists were 
lazy and indifferent, he tried to find out the cause. He 
soon discovered that the workers thought it unjust that 
they should have to feed the lazy, for the rule had been 
that all suppHes should go into a common storehouse, and 
that eacTi man should receive an equal share. 

As the company had in 1609 received a new charter 
from the king, granting them land for four hundred miles 
along the coast, and thence '* up into the land throughout 
from sea to sea, west and northwest," they were very 
anxious that the Jamestown colony should thrive. Dale, 
therefore, now said that each man should work for himself 
only. The result was that those who were willing to labor 



98 

were soon very comfortable, while the lazy colonists be- 
came poorer and poorer. Still, seeing that they must 
work or starve, the idlers now did enough to keep them- 
selves alive. 

Other laws were made at the same time, and it was 
decided that those who disobeyed them should have their 
tongues pierced with a red-hot iron. From this time on 
Jamestown prospered ; more colonists came, grain became 
plentiful, and instead of digging for gold, the settlers planted 
tobacco to sell in England. 

The EngHsh had by this time learned to like tobacco, 
although King James disapproved so strongly of smoking 
that he wrote a book called ** A Counterblast to Tobacco." 
In fact, the use of this weed was so general that the colo- 
nists, finding they could get about seventy-five cents a 
pound for it, raised all they could, thus following the 
example set by John Rolfe, one of their number. 

Four years after Captain Smith left the Jamestown 
colony, the English captain Ar'gall, remembering how 
useful Pocahontas had been, determined to capture her. 
Hearing that she was with a neighboring tribe, he bar- 
gained with the chief to lure her on board his vessel and 
leave her there. 

The chief consented, and walked off in triumph with his 
reward, — a shiny copper kettle, — leaving Pocahontas in 
the hands of Captain Argall. He took her to Jamestown, 
where she was kindly treated. John Rolfe converted the 
young prisoner, and made her his wife as soon as she had 
been baptized. Powhatan and many of his tribe were 
invited to this wedding, the first between an Englishman 
and an Indian girl. Of course it was a great event in the 



99 



colony, so when the next ship went back to England it 
carried this piece of news to court. 

When the king heard it he was greatly displeased, for 
he fancied that, after marrying the daughter of the King 




Marriage of Pocahontas. 

of Virginia, Rolfe might want to rule over the country. 
But Rolfe wished nothing of the kind, and after growing 
tobacco for a while, he took his Indian wife to England. 
To please Captain Smith, the queen welcomed Pocahon- 
tas kindly. She appeared at court in fashionable Eng- 
lish clothes, — which must have seemed .very uncomfortable 
to an Indian, — and was presented as the " Lady Rebecca," 
for since her baptism her name had been changed. Poca- 
hontas spent a few months in England, and she had just 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — 7 



lOO 



started to return to Virginia, when she was taken ill and 
died. But she left a little son, who lived to grow up and 
become the ancestor of several noted families in Virginia. 

The colonists soon found tobacco so profitable that they 
planted it even in the streets of Jamestown, and used it 
for money. Instead of saying a thing was worth so many 




Wives for the Virginians. 

dollars, as we do now, they said it was worth so many 
pounds of tobacco. They rapidly grew rich, and as they 
no longer feared starvation, all longed to have wives to 
make them comfortable. 

They therefore wrote to England, asking that women 
should be sent out to them, offering to give from one hun- 
dred to one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco to pay 
for their passage. The next ship, therefore, brought over 



roi 



a cargo of young women, and the men who wanted wives 
rushed down to the wharf, and wooed them so eagerly that 
there were soon many happy homes in Virginia. 

As tobacco crops rapidly exhaust the soil, the colonists 
occupied more and more land, settling generally near a 
stream, so that vessels could come and load at their private 
docks. And because tobacco is planted, and not sown, 
their lands were called plantations, a name still used in the 
South for any large farm. Some people, however, say the 
name was given to any settlement planted in a new place. 

To make sure they would always have a good govern- 
ment, the Virginia planters, who in 1619 had eleven 
settlements, or boroughs, chose two men from each 
borough to sit in a House of Bur'ges-ses at Jamestown. 
These burgesses helped to make a set of laws, called the 
"Great Charter." The fact that the colonists now had a 
share in ruling themselves, made them take special pride in 
their new homes, although they still spoke lovingly of 
England as the " mother country." 

Strange to relate, the same year that the Virginia colo- 
nists claimed their right as freemen to help govern them- 
selves, a Dutch ship brought twenty negroes to Jamestown, 
and sold them as slaves. But although these were the 
first colored people in our country, they were not the first 
or only slaves, for the king had already sent out a number 
of convicts and homeless children to serve the colonists. 

There was always a great difference between white and 
colored slaves. White men were sold only for a certain 
length of time, after which they again became free ; but 
the negroes were sold for good and all, and they and 
their children were to be slaves forever. 



I02 



XXVII. HUDSON AND THE INDIANS. 

WHILE the English were gaining ground in Virginia, 
the other nations were not idle. The Spaniards, 
as we have seen, had settled in Florida and New Mexico, 
and, in the latter place especially, their priests started 
several mission stations. 

This was very dangerous work, because they often had 
to go alone among the Indians, who at times rose up 
against them and even tortured them to death. But these 
priests were quite ready to die for the sake of their reli- 
gion, and although in the course of the next one hundred 
years more than forty were murdered, others were always 
ready to take their places. 

After many failures the Spaniards finally made friends 
with and converted most of the Pueb'lo Indians, who 
learned to live on peaceable terms with the white men, as 
they still do to-day. In fact, although they had but one 
small town, Santa Fe, the Spaniards had many missions 
and eleven churches in New Mexico before the Jamestown 
colonists first sat in the House of Burgesses. 

The French Huguenots, as already said, tried to make 
a settlement in the southern part of our country, but had 
been murdered by their Spanish neighbors. Next, some 
Frenchmen tried to settle in Maine, but soon gave up the 
attempt. Their first lasting settlement was therefore made 
in 1604, at Port Royal in A-ca'di-a, where they at first 
suffered much, but afterwards prospered greatly and had 
comfortable homes. 

The Dutch, living near the ocean, were great seamen 



I03 



and traders, so you will not be surprised to hear that they, 
too, sent ships across the Atlantic before long. One of 
these vessels, the Half-Moon, under Henry Hudson, came 
over here to look for the northwest passage. Sailing 
along the New England coast, and thence southward, 
Hudson entered Del'a-ware and New York bays. He 
also sailed up a great stream, then called the North River, 
but now generally known as the Hudson (1609). 

At first Hudson thought this broad river must be the 
long-sought road to India, because at high tide the water 
was salt many miles upstream. But sailing on, he finally 
discovered that it was a river, which he explored to the 

point where K\' - 
ba-ny now stands. 
It was in Septem- 
ber, the weather was 
beautiful, and Hud- 
son and his crew 
were in raptures 
over the lovely 
views. The com- 
ing of this vessel 
created a great sen- 
sation among the 
Indians, who rushed to the edge of the 
water to see the ** great white bird." 
They called the Half-Moon a bird on 
account of its spreading sails. 

Hudson traded with the natives for 
tobacco and furs, and once when they tried to steal some 
of his trinkets he gave them a terrible fright by shooting 




I04 

off his cannon. On his return he landed on Man-hat'tan 
Island, where the Indians gave him a feast, breaking their 
arrows to show he need fear no treachery on their part. 

We are told that, in exchange for their hospitaHty, 
Hudson offered the savages some rum to drink. They 
looked at it, and smelled it, but passed it on without 
tasting it. Finally the bottle came to an Indian who was 
somewhat bolder than the rest, or who feared to offend 
the white man. He drank a great deal of the Hquor, but 
he had no sooner done so than he fell down senseless, and 
all his companions thought he was dead. 

After a few hours, however, the Indian awoke from his 
drunken sleep, to remark that the Dutchman had the 
strongest water he had ever tasted. The other savages 
were now all eager to try the " fire water " too ; and, hav- 
ing drunk it once, they took such a fancy to it that before 
long they were ready to give all they had in exchange for 
more. But, as you will see, this fire water was to do them 
a great deal of harm. 

On his way home Hudson stopped in England, where 
they kept him a prisoner, saying an Englishman ought to 
make discoveries only for the good of his own country. 
But Hudson managed to send a description of his journey 
to Holland, and he then reported that he had visited " as 
beautiful a land as one can tread upon." Hearing from 
him also that great bargains in furs could be made with 
the Indians, Dutch merchants soon sent out vessels to 
establish trading stations near Albany and on Manhattan 
Island. 

While the Dutch were thus bartering, Hudson, set free, 
started out on a voyage for England. Sailing farther 



I05 

north, in search of a passage to India, he came, in 1611, 
to the bay which still bears his name. Here his crew 
suffered so much from the cold climate that, in their anger 
against their captain, they put him, his son, and seven sick 
men in a boat, and cut them adrift. The ship came back 
to Europe in safety, but nothing more was ever heard of 
Hudson or the unfortunate sailors with him. 

The Dutch soon built Fort Orange on the Hudson, near 
Albany, Fort Nas^sau on the Delaware, and, later, a fort 
on Manhattan Island. Here, in 16 14, they founded the col- 
ony later called New Am'ster-dam, on the very spot where a 
shipwrecked captain had built the first Dutch- American ves- 
sel about one year before. Little by little the Dutch now 
took possession of the land along the Hudson River and 
New York Bay. They built comfortable houses of bricks 
brought over from Holland, and before long had many 
thrifty farms in what they called the New Neth'er-lands. 



3>S^C 



XXVIII. THE MAYFLOWER. 

WHILE the Spaniards were settling in Florida and 
New Mexico, the French in Acadia, and the Dutch 
in the New Netherlands, the English, as we have seen, 
had also been busy. In Virginia they had founded James- 
town, and Gosnold and John Smith had visited and named 
several places in New England, such as Cape Cod and the 
Charles River. 

During the next few years several attempts were made 
to found a colony in New England, but all failed. Still, 



io6 



although no real settlements were made, English fishing 
vessels were often seen along the coast, where codfish 
could easily be caught and dried. The captain of one of 
these fishing boats is said to have captured twenty-four 
Indians, whom he carried off to sell as slaves. Among 
these savages was one named Squan'to. He was taken 
first to Spain and then to England before he was shipped 
back to his native land. 

When poor Squanto finally reached the New England 
shores once more he found everything sadly changed. 
During his absence a terrible plague had broken out and 
swept away nearly all his tribe. Wigwams, fields, hunting 
and fishing grounds were now deserted, and the few In- 
dians who had escaped death had gone to live elsewhere. 
Squanto therefore joined another tribe, to whom he soon 
proved very useful, for he had learned enough English to 
serve as interpreter between them and the fishermen. 

Nowadays people can be of any religion they choose, 
but in the beginning of the seventeenth century every one 
was expected to practice the religion of the country in 
which he lived. After following the Roman Catholic 
religion for about nine centuries, the Enghsh, in the 
middle of the sixteenth century, suddenly decided that 
England should have a church of her own. Their king, 
Henry VIII., said that while the pope was head of the 
Roman CathoHc Church, he would henceforth be head 
of the An'gli-can or English Church. He added that all 
his subjects would have to attend the services of that 
church, and pay a tax to him for its support, just as they 
had done to the pope. 

Although there were a great many people quite willing 



lo; 

to do this, others said that as their parents had been 
Roman Catholics they would be so too. These people 
were very firm, and although the king tried to force them 
to change their religion, some of them bravely died rather 
than do what they considered wrong. 

At first there were only Roman CathoHcs and Anglicans 
in England. But after a time some of the Anglicans said 
that they wanted a plainer and purer religion. They re- 
peated this so often that before long they were known all 
over England as the Pu'ri-tans. Next, some of the Puri- 
tans refused to go to the Anglican Church at all, or to pay 
for its support, and because they did this they were treated 
just as unkindly as the Roman CathoHcs. 

Those Puritans who separated themselves from their 
brethren and refused to go to the AngHcan Church were 
soon called Sep'a-ra-tists. They were held in great con- 
tempt, and persecuted by all those who did not believe 
exactly as they did. After standing this for several years, 
some of them left England in 1607, and after many trials 
founded a Separatist colony at Ley'den in Holland. 

Here they had to work very hard to make a living; 
and although they tried to keep their children apart from 
the rest of the people, they soon saw that the boys and 
girls were learning the Dutch language and ways so 
rapidly that before long they would cease to be English. 
The Separatists therefore began to wonder where they 
could go so their children would hear nothing but the 
English language, have no dealings with people of a differ- 
ent religion, and still have a fair chance to make a living. 

They finally decided to go to the New World, and sent 
to ask King James's permission to found a colony in a 



io8 



place where, while remaining his faithful subjects, they 
could worship as they pleased. James allowed them to 
go to America, but refused to give them a paper granting 
all the rights they wished. Still, as the Separatists knew 
that the king was as likely to break a written promise as a 
verbal one, they made up their minds to run the risk. 

Too poor to hire vessels to carry them and their goods 
across the ocean, the Separatists borrowed the necessary 
money from English speculators, promising that all their 
earnings for the next seven years should be equally divided 
between the merchants and the colonists. Then, hearing 
that none but Church of England people would be received 
in Virginia, they decided to settle in the land Hudson had 
described so favorably. 

As the Separatists were about to set out on a long 
pilgrimage, or journey, for the sake of their religion, they 
took the name of Pilgrims. The youngest and strongest 
among them were to go out first, under the guidance of 
one of their teachers, Elder Brewster. But all the old 
and feeble members were to remain in Holland a little 
longer, in charge of their minister, Mr. Rob'in-son. After 
a last feast together, and a solemn parting prayer, the 
Pilgrims received their pastor's blessing, said good-by to 
their friends, and embarked on the Speedwell at Delfs- 
ha'ven. The spot whence they started is now marked by 
a monument commemorating their departure, and from 
there Robinson prayerfully watched them until they were 
out of sight. Although their vessel was old and leaky, the 
Pilgrims reached South-amp'ton safely. Here they found 
friends waiting for them, and all ready to sail in the May- 
flower. After a short delay both vessels set out together; 



109 



but they soon had to put back, because the Speedwell 
proved unsafe. Leaving it at Plymouth, one hundred and 
two of the most 
determined Pil- 
grims embarked 
on ih.Q Mayjlozver, 
which set out 
alone to cross the 
Atlantic Ocean 
(1620). 

In those times 
all travel, whether 
by land or sea, 
was very slow. 
It was therefore 
only after sixty- 
three days that the Mayjloiver, driven out of its course 
by a storm, reached Cape Cod Bay. Thus, you see, it 
came to the shores of New England instead of New 
York or New Jersey. During that long and tempestuous 
journey one of the passengers died ; but as one little baby 
was born on the ship, the Pilgrims still numbered one hun- 
dred and two souls. 




The Mayflower. 



XXIX. PLYMOUTH ROCK. 

THE season was so far advanced when the Pilgrims 
reached our northeast coast, and the seas were so 
rough, that the captain of the Mayfloivcr said it would not 
be safe to go any farther. So the Pilgrims, who were tired 



1 lO 



of the ship and eager to begin building their new homes, 
decided to settle in New England. Before they left the 
ship, however, the men assembled in the little cabin to 
draw up a paper, in which they pledged themselves to be 
true to their country, king, and religion, and to obey any 
laws made for the good of the colony. Then they elected 
John Carver, one of their number, as governor for one year, 
and named Miles Stand'ish, an old soldier, their captain. 




The First Wash Day. 

While the women hastened ashore to wash their linen, 
Standish and his little band of Pilgrim soldiers began to 
explore the coast to find the best spot for their settlement. 
For a few days they tramped up and down on Cape 
Cod, once only catching a glimpse of an Indian and a dog. 
But finally they came to a ruined wigwam, where they 
saw a copper kettle. This showed them that Europeans 



1 1 



had been there before. Soon after they found some 
buried corn, and carried it oiT, intending to pay the 
owners for it later. 

About three weeks after this, some Pilgrims and seamen 
took a boat and sailed off to make a more extensive explora- 
tion of the coast. After going a long distance they landed, 
and as they walked along they were surprised to find so 
many graves, for they did not know then that the plague 
had raged there two years before. Early one day, after 
spending an uncomfortable night out of doors, and saying 
their morning prayers, the explorers were startled by a 
terrible Indian war whoop, and a flight of arrows fell all 
around them. 

But Miles Standish was so brave a man that he made 
his men stand firm and drive the Indians away. The In- 
dians had attacked the party only because they fancied 
that the Pilgrims had come to steal Indians, as the fisher- 
men had done several times before. 

The Pilgrims now continued their explorations in the 
midst of a driving snowstorm. Their rudder broke, and 
they had to steer with their oars. Finally they were 
driven ashore, where they kindled a fire, spending Sunday 
in prayer and praise, and resuming their journey only on 
Monday morning. 

On December 21 or 22 they again ran ashore, landing on 
a rock, since called ** the stepping-stone of New England," 
and now carefully preserved and known as " Plymouth 
Rock." The land around seemed so favorable that they 
decided to plant their colony here, naming it Plymouth, 
in honor of the last EngHsh town they had seen before 
leaving old England. 



I 12 



As the landing- of the Pilgrim fathers is one of the great 
events of our history, the anniversary of their coming is 
still kept in New England and elsewhere, and is known as 
" Forefathers' Day." 

While Standish and his men were busy exploring, the 
Mayjioiver rode at anchor, and its inmates barely escaped 
a horrible death. One of the colonists", named Biriing-ton, 
having gone into the cabin to get powder, carelessly left 




Landing on Plymouth Rock. 

the barrel open. His boy, a mischievous youngster, crept 
into the cabin unseen, and began playing with a gun. Of 
course it went off unexpectedly, and the child came very 
near setting fire to the powder in the barrel, and thus 
blowing up the Mayfloiuer and all on board. 



113 

As soon as Standish had made his report, the anchor 
was raised, and four days later the Pilgrims landed on 
Plymouth Rock. The first woman to set foot upon it, 
we are told, was a Puritan maiden. Soon all the settlers 
were very busy building a storehouse for their provisions, 
and homes for themselves. 

The men, exposed to the bad weather, caught such 
heavy colds that before long all were ill, and when the 
storehouse and a log hut were finished, both had to serve 
as hospitals for the sick. In spite of an unusually mild 
winter, the colonists found their close quarters on the 
Mayfloiver and in damp log houses so uncomfortable that 
they suffered greatly. 

At one time all but seven were seriously ill, and in the 
course of the winter nearly half of their number perished. 
Grave after grave was dug in the frozen ground, but the 
Pilgrims dared njDt mark them in any way, lest the Indians 
should discover how many of the white men had died. 
Ihey were careful about this, because, although they had 
not seen any, they knew that Indians were lurking near 
them, for tools left in the woods a few hours had mysteri- 
ously vanished. 

XXX. THE FIRST AMERICAN THANKSGIVING. 

EARLY in the spring the Pilgrims were startled, one 
day, by the voice of an Indian saying: "Welcome, 
Englishmen." Looking up, they saw a savage named Sam'- 
o-set, who had boldly walked into their village to greet 
them with words learned from English fishermen. 



The Pilgrims received Samoset so kindly that he came 
back on the morrow with Squanto, who told the colonists 
that the Indian chief Mas'sa-soit wished to make friends 
with them. A meeting was appointed, and when Massa- 
soit appeared, a few days later, Standish received him. 
The drums were beaten loudly, and the Pilgrim soldiers 
gravely escorted the Indian chief to their principal log 
hut, where Governor Carver was waiting for them. 

Here all the choice articles of the Pilgrims had been 
gathered together to make a fine show, and a rug and 
green cushion were laid on the floor for Massasoit to sit 
upon. 

After smoking the calumet, or "pipe of peace," to- 
gether, the Indian chief and the Plymouth governor — 
with the help of their interpreters — made a treaty, 
whereby they promised not to harm but to help each 
other, and to trade in a friendly spirit. 

The Indians now walked freely in and out of the village, 
where they ate and drank so much that the Pilgrims' scant 
stock of provisions grew rapidly less. Edward Wins'low, 
one of the Pilgrims, therefore took occasion, on returning 
Massasoit's visit, to tell him that the Indians were to come 
to Plymouth only when they bore messages from him. To 
make sure that the right Indians would always be well 
treated, Winslow gave Massasoit a ring, which was to 
serve as passport for his men. 

Were you to read Winslow's description of his visit to 
the Indian chief, you would be greatly amused. Massasoit 
had no provisions in his wigwam, so he and his guests 
went to bed hungry. Besides, Winslow and his men had 
to sleep side by side with the dirty chief and his squaw. 



11=^ 



and they were so crowded by other Indians that they 
were very uncomfortable indeed. 

In April the Mayfloiver went back to England ; but 
although the Pilgrims had suffered so sorely during the 
winter, they all wrote brave letters to send home, and not 
one of them asked to go back. After the Mayflower had 
sailed away Governor Carver fell ill and died, so William 
Bradford was elected to take his place. This Bradford 
made so good a ruler that he was elected again and again, 
and during the next thirty-six years he was head of the 
colony nearly all the time. 

Squanto soon became a great favorite with the Pilgrims. 
He played with the children, taught the boys to trap 
game, and told the settlers to plant their corn as soon as 
the leaves of the white oak were as large as a mouse's 
ear. He also taught them to put a fat fish in each hill, 
to serve as manure for the growing grain, because the 
ground around there was very sandy. 

The colonists now worked diligently, making their fields 
and gardens over the graves of their dead companions, so 
that no hostile Indians should ever find out how many 
had died, or dig up their bones. The crops being all 
planted, the Pilgrims went on building, made friends with 
nine Indian chiefs, and traded briskly with the savages for 
furs. 

But day by day the stock of provisions brought from 
England grew less and less, until they finally saw with 
dismay that it would be entirely exhausted long before 
their corn was ripe. So they were put on such scant ra- 
tions that it is said they sometimes had only six grains of 
corn for a meal! As they were not good hunters or ex- 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — 8 



ii6 



perienced fishermen, they Hved almost entirely on shellfish, 
Elder Brewster piously giving thanks to God for supplying 
them with " the abundance of the seas and the treasures 
hid in the sand." 

Although the winter had been very damp, the summer 
proved so dry that it soon seemed as if the Pilgrims' crops 
w^ould perish for want of rain. A day of fasting and prayer 
was therefore appointed, and for nine hours the Pilgrims 
besought God to help them. Some Indians, hearing that 
they were going to pray for rain, watched the sky anx- 
iously, and when it finally clouded over and a gentle rain 
began to fall, they remarked in awe- struck tones that the 
God of the white men had evidently heard their prayers. 

Ten days of moisture which followed the day of prayer 
assured a plentiful harvest, w^hich was safely gathered. 
The Pilgrims were so grateful for this mercy that they set 
a day in which to give thanks. After a solemn service 
they held a great feast, to which Massasoit and ninety 
other Indians w^ere invited. 

At this dinner they ate wild turkeys shot by the colo- 
nists, venison suppUed by the savages, and pies which the 
Pilgrim mothers made from yellow pumpkins, as they had 
no apples. During the next three days all the young- 
people indulged in games and athletic sports, in which the 
Indians also shared. After this " Thanksgiving Day," as 
the Pilgrims named it, a feast like it was kept every year 
in New England. This custom gradually spread from 
there over the whole country, until now the day is ob- 
served in all the states of our Union. The President, who 
appoints the day, generally chooses the last Thursday in 
November. 




-z:r=:=-- c 






("7) 



XXXI. THE SNAKE SKIN AND THE 
BULLETS. 

AS the Pilgrims were just in all their dealings with 
/Y the Indians, and honestly paid them for the corn 
taken when they first landed, the natives became quite 
friendly. They not only brought back the missing tools, 
but once found and carried home the mischievous Billing- 
ton boy, who had lost his way in the forest, near the pond 
which still bears his name. 

The Indians felt such respect for the Pilgrims that when 
Massasoit fell ill he sent for Winslow right away. The 
latter went to the chief's wigwam, where he found a crowd 
of Indians eagerly watching the antics of the medicine 
man, who had come to drive away the chief's disease. 

After ordering all the Indians out of the wigwam, 
Winslow let in some fresh air, cooled the sick Indian's 
hot brow and hands with clean water, and gave him some 
medicine. Presently the savage chief asked for chicken 
broth, which he had once tasted at Plymouth, so Winslow 
sent a messenger to Plymouth for a fowl. Thanks to 
Winslow's good nursing, — for fresh air and cleanliness are 
good doctors, — Massasoit soon recovered, and ever after 
he was the white men's firm ally. 

All the Indians were not friendly, however. Ca-non'i- 
cus, chief of the Nar-ra-gan'setts, an enemy of Massasoit, 
hated to see the land occupied by the English, so he soon 
sent them a rattlesnake's skin full of arrows. Governor 
Bradford looked at it wonderingly and then asked Squanto 
what it meant. The Indian said it signified that unless 



119 

the white men crept away Hke serpents the Indians would 
slay them all with their arrows. 

Hearing this, Bradford coolly took the arrows out of the 
skin, stuffed it full of powder and bullets, and silently 
handed it to the messenger to carry back to Canonicus. 
The savage glided rapidly away, and gave the skin to 
Canonicus, who, afraid of the powder, passed it on to 
another Indian. The snake skin went thus from hand to 
hand, but was finally sent back to Plymouth, with an offer 
of friendship. The Indians, seeing that the English gov- 
ernor was not afraid of them, now begged for peace, 
promising to bury the war hatchet so deep that it could 
never again be dug up. 

The fact is that powder at first seemed a very mysteri- 
ous thing to the red men. They were afraid of it, but 
at the same time longed to have some. One Indian is 
said to have bought powder from a colonist, who gravely 
told him that if he wanted any more he must plant the 
black seed. The savage obeyed, but as nothing came up 
from it, the shrewd Indian declared that he would pay the 
colonist only when the powder grew! 

The Pilgrims, fearing the Indians might attack them, 
built a log meetinghouse on a hill, and used it as a fort, 
placing their cannon on its flat roof. This place was also 
surrounded by a palisade, or great fence of tree trunks, so 
that it could afford the colonists a safe shelter in time 
of danger. Generally, however, it served as a meeting- 
house, for the Pilgrims were all very religious, and when 
the drums beat on Sunday morning all came out of their 
houses and marched in solemn procession to church. 

At the door the men stacked their arms, leaving them 



20 



in charge of a guard, who was to give the alarm at the 
first sign of danger. In the meetinghouse men and 
women sat apart, Hstening to the long prayers and ser- 
mons, or slowly singing very sober hymns. The boys sat 
on the pulpit steps, in full view of the congregation, to 
make sure they would behave properly. 

The sexton, armed with a long stick, rapped the boys 
on the head if they proved unrul}^ or poked the men 
when they fell asleep. But if the girls or women dozed, 
he gently tickled their cheeks with the foxtail hanging at 
the other end of the same stick. Sometimes, too, it was 
he who turned the hourglass when all its sands had run 
out, for the minister was then only halfway through his 
two hours' sermon. 

In the first fall the colony was increased by the arrival 
of more Separatists; but it did not really prosper until the 
settlers bought the shares of the English merchants, and, 
instead of holding everything in common, began to work 
each for himself. They were so industrious and thrifty 
that before long their debts were all paid, and they had 
comfortable homes and good farms. 

The Plymouth people were so strict that they would 
allow none but church members to vote. Their colony 
therefore grew very slowly, and at the end of ten years 
it numbered only about three hundred souls. But other 
Puritans, who did not believe exactly as the Plymouth colo- 
nists, came over to America and founded other colonies 
along the New England coast. 

Thus, for instance, the first Mas-sa-chu'setts Bay colonists 
came over in 1628. As their hope was to convert the 
Indians, they adopted a seal on which there was an Indian, 




M'ikt^^ 




Pilgrims going to Church. 






122 



with the inscription, " Come over and help us." They, 
too, were very strict. They said, " No idle drone may live 
among us," and expected every one to work hard. They 
settled at some distance from Plymouth (map, page 230), 
in a spot which they called Sa'lem ("Peace"), because 
they hoped to live and worship there in peace. 

The principal man in the Massachusetts Bay colony was 
John En^di-cott. He felt such intense horror for the Roman 
Catholic religion that before he had been in America 
very long, he drew out his sword and cut the cross right 
out of the English flag, saying that Puritans could not 
look with respect upon such a popish emblem. Besides, 
hearing that some English colonists had put up a Maypole 
on Merry Mount, and danced there, he cut down the pole 
and scolded the people for indulging in " the folly of 
amusements." 

XXXII. THE BEGINNING OF BOSTON. 

BESIDES Puritans, a few other men came over to New 
England. Among these was Standish, who, as you 
know, proved very useful to the Plymouth colony, and a 
learned man named Black'stone. The latter tried at first 
to live with the Separatists at Plymouth, but when he 
saw that they were not willing to let him do as he thought 
right, and wanted to force him to think just as they did, 
he boldly said : " I came from England because I did not 
like the Lord Bishops, but I cannot join with you, because 
I would not be under the Lord Brethren." 

Having spoken thus, Blackstone left the colony, and 



123 

withdrew to a hill about forty miles up the coast, where 
he built himself a comfortable house. Here he soon had 
a fine garden, where he grew the first apples seen in New 
England ; and his cow, wandering around in search of 
pasture, made the first winding paths through the forest 
in that part of the country. 

Although the Plymouth settlers were, as we have seen, 
usually on friendly terms with the Indians, there were 
some worthless settlers where Weymouth (wa'miith) now 
is, who soon quarreled with them (1623). Hearing that 
the Indians had planned to kill all the whites. Captain 
Standish and his little force marched over to Weymouth. 
Though small, he was very brave. He sent for the Indian 
chiefs, and met them in a log hut. When one of them 
threatened his life, Standish boldly attacked him. There 
was a terrible tussle, but the white man finally killed his 
huge enemy. This act of daring made other Indians 
respect Standish, whom they called the '* big little man." 

While Standish was struggling with one Indian, two 
more were killed by the other white men in the hut, and 
a few others were slain afterwards. When this news reached 
Mr. Robinson at Leyden, he sadly cried: *' Oh, that they 
had converted some before they killed any!" 

In 1630 the colonists of Massachusetts Bay were rein- 
forced by the arrival of seven hundred newcomers, " the 
very flower of the English Puritans." Led by John 
Winthrop, a noble and clever man, some of them came 
over in a ship which was called the Lady Arbela, in 
honor of a delicate lady on board. But seventy- six days 
of sea journey proved so trying to this frail woman that 
she died soon after landing at Salem. 



124 

• 

At first the newcomers tried to settle near Charles'town ; 
but they found the drinking water so bad there that they 
finally went to Trimountain, or Tre'mont (" Three Hills "), 
where Blackstone had built his house. Not liking to live 
so near a large colony of Puritans, Blackstone sold them 
his house and land, and went to settle elsewhere. 

The land thus purchased was divided amon^ the settlers, 
who, for convenience' sake, built their houses along the 
paths made by Blackstone's cow. Some people say that 
this accounts for the crooked streets in old Boston, for such 
was the name this settlement received soon after it was 
made (1630). Six acres, however, were set apart as the 
Common, or pasture ground, for everybody. This part of 
Blackstone's farm still bears that name, but it is now in 
'the very heart of the city of Boston, a beautiful, well-kept 
park, and no longer a mere pasture ground. 

The Boston colonists had brought tools, cattle, and seed 
in abundance ; but in spite of all their foresight and sup- 
plies, their first winter proved very hard. It was very cold, 
and as they had to go some distance for their fuel, many 
could not secure enough. We are told that one man was 
even caught stealing wood from Winthrop's pile. Now, 
the Puritans considered stealing almost as bad as murder, 
and had the man been publicly accused, they would per- 
haps have condemned him to death. But Governor 
Winthrop was so good and gentle that he merely said 
he would cure the man of the habit of stealing, and did so 
by sending the rascal all the fuel he needed until spring. 

Like the Plymouth colonists, the Puritans were threat- 
ened with starvation long before their ships could return. 
Winthrop then generously supplied the people's needs 



125 

from his own store, and actually gave the last flour he had 
in his house to a poor man who came to beg. But the 
good governor did not suffer on account of his generosity, 
for that very day the returning ships sailed into port, 
bringing plenty of provisions for all. 

The colony now prospered greatly, and sent home such 
encouraging letters that more and more people ventured 
across the ocean. Winthrop sent for his wife, and a min- 
ister wrote to his friends that '* a sup of New England 
air is better than a whole draught of Old England's Ale." 

During the next ten years, more than twenty thousand 
English-speaking persons came over to New England. 
There, in time, they formed fifty parishes, or villages, 
connected by roads and bridges. Some of these settle- 
ments were planted far inland, although the Puritans at 
first declared they would never need more land than what 
was inclosed in a circle drawn ten miles around Boston. 

A governor was elected to rule over the colony, and 
each town ruled itself. But the people also sent rep- 
resentatives to the General Court, or Assembly, where 
public matters were discussed and laws were made for the 
good of the whole colony. 

The government being in the hands of the people, 
and the Puritans wishing their children to be well educated, 
public schools were soon provided in every village, and in 
1636 the General Court started the first college. It was 
located in a spot which was called Cam'bridge, in honor 
of the great university town in England. Two years later, 
a minister named HarVard left his library of about two 
hundred and fifty books and some money to the new col- 
lege, which since then has borne his name. 



126 



XXXIII. STORIES OF TWO MINISTERS. 

AT first, Harvard College had only a very few students, 
/\ who were to be educated for the ministry. All the 
colonists contributed to the support of the institution, for 
those who were too poor to give twelvepence in money 
were told to bring a measure of corn or some fire wood. 
Four years after the college was founded, the first English 
printing press was set up there, and began to print books 
of psalms for the Puritan churches. 

While the new college was training missionaries for the 
Indians, the latter had found a good friend in John El'i-ot, 
who came over to America in 1631. While preaching in 
Boston and Rox'bur-y, Eliot learned the Massachusetts 
Indian language, and began to translate the Bible into that 
tongue. It took him nearly thirty years of patient work 
to do this, in the midst of all his preaching and teaching. 
But his Bible was the first printed in America, and many 
of his "praying Indians," as the converts were called, 
learned to read in it. 

Eliot was a sweet, simple, and very lovable man. He 
was so generous that once, in paying him his salary, the 
parish treasurer tied it up in the good man's handkerchief 
with several knots, so that he should not be able to give it 
all away before reaching home. But Eliot, unable to undo 
these hard knots when he met a poor woman, gave her 
handkerchief and all, saying: ''Here, my dear, take it; I 
believe the Lord designs it all for you." 

After years of faithful work among the savages, Eliot, 
the *' Apostle of the Indians," died, at the age of eighty- 



127 

six. He tried harder than any other Puritan to convert 
the red men, who lost their best friend when he passed 
away. The Bible he worked so diligently to translate still 
exists; but as there are no Massachusetts Indians left, it is 
now of no use, except to remind us of Eliot's great patience 
and perseverance. 

As the soil was poor, hands few, and the harvests too 
scanty to supply food for all, the colonists soon began to 
wonder how they could earn money. Before long, they 
discovered that by sending fish to England, they could 
get all the food they wanted. For that reason they fished 
diligently, and soon used a huge codfish as an emblem for 
the MassachusettsBay colony. Next, the colonists built a 
large ship called the Blessing of the Bay, in which they 
sent lumber to the West Indies. In exchange for timber, 
they got sugar and molasses, from which they made rum 
to ship to England. Thus commerce was begun, and, 
increasing year by year, finally made the Massachusetts 
Puritans both rich and independent. 

The Puritans, as you have seen, left England because 
they were not allowed to worship there as they pleased. 
But although they did not like it when the English 
tried to make them obey the Anglican Church, they now 
wanted to force all who came among them to think just 
as they did. 

One young man, Roger Williams, came to New Eng- 
land in 1 63 1, and preached for a while at Salem. But 
as he openly said that the Puritans had no right to punish 
people for thinking differently about religious matters, or 
for such trifles as smoking on the street or laughing too 
loud, he soon displeased some of the colonists. 



128 



They sent him away for a while, thinking he would 
change his mind ; but when Williams came back to Salem, 
he insisted harder than ever that every man had a right to 
think just as he pleased, to worship God as his conscience 
bade him, and to vote whether he went to church or not. 
He also declared that the land around there belonged to 




Williams Welcomed by the Indians. 

the Indians and not to the King of England. These opin- 
ions seemed so wicked to the good Puritans that they called 
him up before their Council to reprove him. 

Finding that the Puritans would not let him live in peace 
in any part of the colony, but intended to send him back 
to England to be tried, Williams secretly escaped from 



129 

Massachusetts, and went to live among the Indians. As he 
knew their language, and had made friends with them, he 
spent a very peaceful winter in their camp. 

When spring came, Williams wanted to settle at 
See'konk ; but as the Plymouth people claimed that part of 
the land, he went farther still, to a place which he called 
Prov'i-dence. Settling there, in 1636, on land he bought 
from the Indians, Williams was soon joined by others who 
shared his opinions, and thus a colony was formed in what 
is now Rhode Island, where all except Jews were allowed 
to vote. This was considered very generous in those days, 
although it now seems unfair to exclude anyone on account 
of religion. 

Because Williams was so much broader-minded than 
many other people of his time, he has often been called 
the " Apostle of Toleration " — a word which means letting 
others alone, or allowing others to do as they please. 
People of every belief came to settle in Williams's neigh- 
borhood before long, and there was soon such a variety 
of them that it was said if a man had lost his religion he 
would be sure to find it again in Rhode Island. 



o>t»ic 



XXXIV. WILLIAMS AND THE INDIANS. 

ONE of the first important persons who followed 
WiUiams to Rhode Island was Mrs. Anne Hutch'in- 
son. Soon after her arrival in Massachusetts, in 1634, she 
began to hold meetings and to preach. The Puritans, who 
did not believe in women's talking in public, told her to be 



I30 

• 
silent; but she refused to obey, and went on preaching 
until she gained great influence over many people. 

Indeed, when an Indian war broke out, her followers 
even refused to go and fight unless she was allowed to 
talk just as much as she pleased. But as soon as the war 
was over, Mrs. Hutchinson was banished. Then she, too, 
went to Rhode Island (1637), where she bought from the 
Indians the large island of that name. She gave them 
only twenty hoes, ten coats, and forty fathoms of wam- 
pum in payment for it, and near one end of it she be- 
gan the town which is now the beautiful city of New'port. 
Several Quakers, driven out of the Massachusetts colonies 
by the Puritans, also came to live near her, and her settle- 
ment prospered greatly. 

Other colonies were also begun farther north. A short 
time after the founding of Plymouth, Mason and Gor'ges 
received from the king a grant of land. Coming over to 
America, they divided their land and founded colonies, 
Gorges in Maine and Mason in New Hamp'shire. Among 
the principal settlements thus made were the towns of 
Ports^mouth and Dover. Some years later, however, these 
places were added to Massachusetts, to which colony 
New Hampshire was joined for about thirty-five years. 

In 1630, at the time when Boston was founded, 
some fishermen reported that the Con-nect'i-cut River 
flowed between very fertile banks. This news made Lords 
Say, Brooke, and others ask for a grant of land there, 
which the king readily gave them. These owners then 
prepared to found a new colony, which was called Say'- 
brook, after two of their number. But they very soon found 
that there was no time to lose if they wanted to claim the 



131 



land the king had given them, for the Dutch had already 
built a trading station where Hartford now stands, and 
were threatening to occupy all the Connectic'ut valley. 

In spite of the fact that the Dutch got there first, Win- 
throp's son was told to build a fort at the mouth of the 
Connecticut, or Long River, where he was soon joined by 
a colony of about fifty men. These settlers suffered 
greatly from lack of food and proper shelter. 

Still, the white men spread rapidly in Connecticut, and 
in the spring of 1636, Pastor Hooker, ** the Hght of the 



liffeM^^^ 




Carrying Mrs. Hooker to Hartford. 

western church," came there from Massachusetts, with 
about one hundred men, women, and children. Walking 
through the woods, driving their cattle before them, and 
carrying poor sick Mrs. Hooker on a litter, these colonists 

-9 



STO. OF THIR. COL. 



132 

came to settle on the banks of the Connecticut, where 
they founded Hartford. They brought written laws with 
them, in which, among other things, it was stated that a 
man need not be a church member to vote. 

But the Connecticut colonists soon met two foes in 
this new region ; they were the Dutch and the Pe'quot 
Indians, of whom the latter proved by far the more trouble- 
some. Soon after murdering one settler, the Pequots 
carried his family off to Block Island. The news of mur- 
der and capture no sooner reached Massachusetts, than 
ninety men set out, under John Endicott, to punish the 
Indians. 

Sailing to Block Island, the Indian stronghold, they 
killed the Indians and burned down their village. Then 
some of them went on to the Connecticut valley, to join 
and help the English there. The Pequots,' angry with 
the colonists, now sought the friendship of the Narragan- 
sett and Mo-he'gan Indians ; for they thought that if three 
such powerful tribes joined forces, the white men would 
soon be crushed. 

When the settlers heard of this, they were terrified. 
But knowing Roger Williams was the only man who could 
prevent the Narragansetts from making an alliance with 
their foes, they hastily sent him a message, imploring his 
aid. Instead of acting meanly, as some other men would 
have done in his place, and leaving those who had treated 
him ill to look out for themselves, Roger Williams set out 
right away, although a terrible storm was then raging. 

Narrowly escaping death, he paddled bravely on in his 
frail skiff till he came to the Narragansetts' camp. There 
he found the Pequots fiercely urging their friends to fight 



133 

by showing them the bloody scalps they had already taken. 
During the next three days and nights, Williams pleaded 
and argued with the Narragansett Indians, and he finally 
persuaded them not to take part in the Pequot war. 
Thanks to his efforts, too, the Mohegans sided with the 
white men, their chief bravely helping John Mason, th^ 
commander of the settlers' force. 

After a night spent in prayer, the combined force of 
colonists and friendly Indians suddenly attacked the prin- 
cipal Pequot camp in what is now southeastern Connecti- 
cut. Taken unawares, the savages, roused by the barking 
of their dogs, sprang out of their wigwams, only in time 
to see the white men rush into their fort. A moment 
later, the invaders flung blazing torches at their dwellings, 
which were soon in flames over the heads of their wives 
and children. Many perished in the fire, and the glare of 
the flames allowed the colonists to see and kill nearly all 
their dusky foes. 

Soon after this massacre, the Pequot chief was over- 
taken and slain, and his head was long exposed on a tree, 
in a place since known as Sachems Head, or Point. The 
few remaining Pequots either became slaves or fled to the 
Hudson River. This was the first real Indian war in New 
England (i 636-1 638). After it was all over the colonists 
along the Connecticut were left in peace, and for nearly 
forty years there was no more trouble with the red men. 

The Pequot war was scarcely finished when three hun- 
dred EngHsh settlers came to found New Haven. They 
were mostly rich trading people, and they wanted to have 
a colony which would be governed only by the laws of 
the Bible. The New Haven colony grew fast, and before 



134 

long included Saybrook and five other very prosperous 
towns. 

It was in the Pequot war that the colonies first saw the 
advantage of helping one another, and five years later 
(1643) ^ league was formed between Massachusetts Bay, 
Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven. Maine and 
Rhode Island were not allowed to join it, because they 
were not Puritan colonies. But New Hampshire really 
belonged to it, as that colony had been joined to Massa- 
chusetts in 1 641. 

XXXV. THE QUAKERS. 

WHILE the English were founding the New Eng- 
land colonies, many changes had taken place in 
England. King James I. was succeeded by Charles I., 
and the English, weary of monarchs who did not keep 
their promises, rose up in rebellion in 1643. 

By this time, the English Puritans had increased so 
that they became masters of the whole country. It was 
governed by their chief, Oliver Crom'well, and called the 
Commonwealth of England. The Puritans, being in power, 
made the Roman Catholics and the Church of England 
people as uncomfortable as the latter had once made them. 
Many Catholics and Anglicans were therefore only too 
glad to cross the ocean, in their turn, so as to found new 
homes where they could worship as they pleased ; and you 
shall soon hear how they prospered. 

Cromwell, as Protector of the Commonwealth of Eng- 
land, made a new law (165 i), called the Navigation Act. 



135 

By this law it was decided that the colonists should build 
no more ships, and that all their goods should be carried 
across the ocean only in English vessels. This law was 
very unjust, and captains of English ships speedily took 
advantage of it to raise their prices for freight. So, while 
England was rapidly growing rich, her colonists grumbled 
sorely at the heavy rates they had to pay. 

That same year began the great Quaker excitement in 
Massachusetts. The Quakers were the disciples of a 
very good man, George Fox. They called themselves 
Friends, but were called Quakers by the other people, 
because they often said one ought to quake at the thought 
of the wrath of God. 

As some of the months and days of the week bore the 
names of old heathen gods, the Friends would not use 
them, but, instead, numbered the days and months, speak- 
ing of the first day of the sixth month, the twelfth day of 
the second month, and so on. They would not take any 
oaths, either, but used only the words ''yea" and *'nay." 
They further treated all persons alike, calling even the king 
by his given name, and refused to take off their hats in his 
presence. Although generally quiet and modest, a few 
of the Quakers were so anxious to spread the teachings 
of their preacher Fox that they came over to Massachusetts, 
knowing they would be illtreated there. 

Nevertheless, they began preaching, and firmly but 
quietly refused to stop when told to do so. They were 
therefore tortured and punished in many ways. A few- 
were whipped, sent to jail, or put in the stocks. Their 
books were burned; they were driven out of the colony; 
and as all this was not enough, four of them were hanged. 



136 

The Quaker excitement finally grew so great that 
some of them were sent back to England and the rest 
forced to take refuge in Rhode Island, where they could 
practice any religion they liked. But the Quakers who 
had been shipped back to England, and especially a few 
discontented colonists, complained very much of the Mas- 
sachusetts government, and made considerable trouble for 
New England. 

XXXVI. THE KING-KILLERS. 

CROMWELL having died in 1658, the English, most 
of whom were still greatly attached to the royal 
family, soon begged Charles II. to come back and take 
possession of his throne. He gladly returned to England, 
where he punished no one for the revolution, except the 
men who had condemned his father, Charles I., to death. 
A few of these king-killers, or " reg'i-cides," as they were 
called, fled from England as soon as they heard the king 
was coming, and three took passage for America. 

Two of these men, Goffe and WhaFley, after some 
trouble, reached the New Haven colony, where Puri- 
tan friends helped them to hide. The king sent orders 
to arrest them, and magistrates began to search every 
house to secure the regicides. For about eighteen years 
these two men lived in constant dread of being caught; 
but, thanks to their many friends, they always escaped. 
They dwelt for a while in a deserted mill, then in a cave, 
and once hid under a bridge while their pursuers gal- 
loped over it, expecting soon to overtake them. 



137 

The fact that the New Haven people had sheltered some 
of his father's judges, added to the complaints of the 
Quakers and discontented colonists, displeased Charles II. 
greatly; and he finally declared that New Haven should 
cease to form a separate colony, and joined it to Connect- 
icut, which received a new charter (1662). 

It is also said, however, that these two colonies were 
united mainly to please the Connecticut people, because 
they had won the king's favor by sending him a pretty 
message to welcome him back to the throne. The charter 
he gave them was the most liberal ever granted the colo- 
nists, although the one Roger Williams secured for Rhode 
Island also granted many privileges. 

You doubtless remember the treaty made between the 
Indian King Massasoit and Governor Carver, when the 
Pilgrims first came to Plymouth. This treaty was kept 
forty years, and Massasoit and his tribe faithfully helped 
the colonists to fight the other Indians. But when Mas- 
sasoit died, his two sons, who had received the names of 
Alexander and Philip, began to rule in their turn. 

Alexander knew, by the wampum belts which were the 
history books of his tribe, that nearly all the land of his 
Indian fathers had been sold to the white men, piece by 
piece. It had been given in exchange for beads, kettles, 
blankets, etc., and now very Httle was left. But the 
Indians fancied that, although they had sold the land, they 
could still hunt and fish there as much as they pleased. 
The colonists, however, would not allow them to do so, 
and drove the Indians farther and farther off, until they 
began to feel cramped for space. 

It is said that when one of the colonists once came to 



138 

bid an Indian chief to remove still farther from the white 
settlements, the red man invited him to take a seat beside 
him on a log. Crowding nearer and nearer his guest, 
the chief bade him move again and again, until he forced 
him to the very end of the log. But when the colonist 
declared he could not move another inch without falHng 
off, the chief calmly answered : '* It is just so with us. 
We have moved as far as we can go, and now you come 
here to ask us to move farther still." 

This feeling of unfair treatment made Alexander so 
angry, at last, that he formed a secret alliance with the 
Narragansett Indians to kill all the white men. But the 
Plymouth governor, hearing of this, promptly sent for him, 
bidding him come and clear himself of the accusation of 
treachery. Then, as the Indian did not obey at once, Wins- 
low quickly set out, with his men, to bring him by force. 

Alexander, furious at being thus compelled to mind, fell 
seriously ill from fever. The colonists then allowed his 
followers to carry him home ; but on the way back, the 
Indian chief breathed his last. Ever after, his people were 
in the habit of saying that he had gone to the Happy Hunt- 
ing Grounds, where the palefaces could never come to 
crowd him out. 

XXXVII. KING PHILIP'S WAR. 

AT Alexander's death, Philip became chief of his tribe ; 
/\and thinking the English had poisoned Alexander, he 
began to plot revenge. After brooding over his wrongs 
for several years, Philip was accused of planning to attack 



39 



the colonists. The governor of Plymouth sent word to 
Philip to come and explain his conduct, but, we are told, 
the Indian haughtily said to the messenger: ** Your gov- 
ernor is but a subject of King Charles of England. I shall 
not treat with a subject I shall only treat with the king, 
my brother. When he comes, I am ready." 

Still, Philip did come, and promised to keep the peace. 
But a few years later, he was about to fall upon the colo- 




An Indian Attack. 

nists unexpectedly, when a praying Indian warned them 
of their danger. This Indian was murdered by three of 
PhiHp's friends, who were found guilty and put to death 
for the crime. Not long after this, the Indians attacked 
the colonists at Swan'sea, as they were walking home 
from church, and killed all those who could not escape in 
time to the blockhouse. 

As had been agreed beforehand, an alarm was sent right 



140 

away to Plymouth and Boston, where signal fires were 
kindled on what is still known as Beacon Hill. An army 
of colonists hastily obeyed this summons, and set out to 
attack Philip. But the latter was too quick for them, and 
managed to escape from his camp at Mount Hope, with 
about seven hundred Indians. 

Small villages and outlying farmhouses were now in 
constant danger; for the savages, gliding along as noise- 
lessly as snakes, pounced upon the people by day or by 
night. They forced their way into the houses, killed and 
scalped the men, carried women and children off into cap- 
tivity, and left nothing but heaps of smoking ruins behind 
them. 

In the course of this terrible war, several women were 
carried off with all their children. One child — a tiny 
babe — annoyed one of the savages by crying, so he killed 
it in the poor mother's arms. The unhappy woman, too 
ill to walk as fast as the Indians wished, was also slain ; but 
the rest of her children were sold into captivity. In time, 
all were rescued, except one little girl, who later married 
an Indian, and never saw her family again until she was a 
grandmother. 

In the course of King Philip's War, which lasted from 
1675 till 1678, forty out of ninety English towns suffered 
greatly, and thirteen were burned to the ground. Al- 
though there were no great battles, — except a swamp fight, 
in which about one thousand Indians were killed, — there 
were many small engagements, one of the fiercest being 
that of Bloody Brook, near Deerfield. It seems that, 
owing to an alarm, the village was deserted, but nearly 
one hundred men were sent there to save the crops. On 



HI 

their way back, they carelessly laid their guns in a cart, 
and scattered to eat grapes. The Indians, lurking in the 
forest in great numbers, took advantage of this to fall upon 
them unawares, and seizing their weapons, killed all but a 
few of them. 

The Indians treated all their captives cruelly, and often 
made them suffer horrible tortures. Terrible stories are 
told of this time, when many died, and but few captives 
escaped. Once, the savages suddenly broke into a house, 
and a servant hastily thrust a little child under a big 
kettle to hide it from them. The little one kept so very 
quiet that the Indinas did not know it was there, and later 
on it was found unharmed. We are also told that a woman 
once drove a party of Indians away by flinging ladlefuls 
of boiUng soap at them, which made them flee, shrieking 
with pain. Another band of Indians, creeping into a 
house by way of the chimney, were killed on the hearth, 
one after another, by a mother who thus bravely defended 
her little ones. 

Once, while the people of Hadley were at church, some 
Indians came sneaking into the village ; but they were seen 
by the king-killer Goffe, who happened to be hiding just 
then in the minister's house. Rushing out, that white- 
haired old man gave the alarm, and led the colonists so 
boldly that the Indians were driven away. But as soon as 
the danger was over, Goffe again disappeared, and was 
never seen in public again, although he is said to have died 
at Hadley a few years later, and to have been buried in 
the minister's cellar. 

All these secret attacks and massacres roused the anger 
of the colonists, who finally got the better of their savage 



142 

• 
foes. Philip's wife and son fell into their hands, and we 
are told that when the Indian chief heard that his child 
had been sent to the West Indies, to be sold as a slave, he 
bitterly cried: '' My heart breaks! I am ready to die." 

Shortly after, the camp where he and his tribe were 
rapidly starving to death was surrounded by Captain 
Church's little army. Philip fled, hoping yet to escape; 
but a bullet from an Indian's gun struck him, and '* he fell 
upon his face in the mud and water, with his gun under 
him." When his body was found thus, his head was cut 
off, and set up on a pole in Plymouth, where it was kept 
for about twenty years. To reward Church for his ser- 
vices to the colony, the settlers gave him Philip's wampum 
belt, which has always been carefully kept as a great curi- 
osity ; and the sword which he handled in King Philip's 
War can still be seen in the rooms of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society. 

XXXVIII. THE BEGINNING OF NEW YORK. 

CHARLES II. was such a very merry and easy-going 
king that whenever his followers asked him for land 
in America, he readily granted it to them. In fact, he 
was so free-handed that sometimes he even gave away 
what really did not belong to him ! Thus, he told his 
brother James, Duke of York, that he could have all 
the country claimed by the Dutch, saying that it was 
English because Cabot had visited it first. 

As you will see, this led to trouble ; for the Dutch, after 
building their first trading post on Manhattan Island, in 



H3 

1 6 14, had begun to form a colony in the New World. At 
first, the Dutch settlers were on very good terms with the 
Indians; but, owing mostly to the fire water they so 
freely sold, quarrels soon arose. 

Seeing this, the Dutchman Min'u-it purchased the whole 
of Manhattan Island, in 1626, for about twenty-four dollars' 
worth of beads and trinkets. The town on it was called 
New Amsterdam, after a great city in Holland, and this 
sale, which gave the Dutch land for one sixth of a cent 
an acre, was soon followed by many others. Indeed, they 
soon owned all the Hudson and Delaware valleys, besides 
a strip of coast between the mouths of these two rivers. 

Under Governor Kieft, the Indians, exasperated by the 
treatment they received, planned to murder all the Dutch. 
But a grateful Indian gave a colonist timely warning of 
the coming danger. Kieft now tried to make friends with 
the redskins, and appointed a meeting with their chiefs on 
Long Island. When called upon to state their causes of 
complaint, the Indians brought forth a bundle of sticks, 
and laying them down, one after another, related a special 
wrong for each stick. 

Realizing that they had good cause for complaint, Kieft 
made a treaty with them, which, however, was soon 
broken. Again farms were attacked and settlers were 
scalped, and it was only after the number of whites had 
been greatly reduced, and more than a thousand Indians 
killed, that peace was finally made, in 1645. It was dur- 
ing this war that Mrs. Hutchinson, who had left Rhode 
Island and settled in the western part of Connecticut, was 
slain, with all her children except one, who was carried 
off into captivity. 



144 

To induce people to come and settle in the New Nether- 
lands, —as the Dutch called their share of the New World, — 
rich settlers, or patroons, were promised a farm of sixteen 
miles' water front, provided they brought out fifty colo- 
nists with the necessary farming tools and stock. The 
result of this offer was that many comfortable Dutch 
houses arose in the New Netherlands, which soon had 
many prosperous settlements, in each of which was a free 
school, so the children should not grow up ignorant. 

These colonists were simple-hearted, jolly, and fond of 
good things to eat. On their numerous holidays they 
danced gayly, a pastime which the Puritans considered 
very wicked, and they often assembled to help one another 
and have a good time. Their principal festivals were held 
in honor of St. Nicholas, and on January i, when they 
called upon all their friends to wish them a happy New 
Year. 

■ In 1656, about ten years after the Indian troubles ended, 
there were about one thousand inhabitants in the city of 
New Amsterdam, which stood on the lower part of Man- 
hattan Island. Protected on three sides by the waters of 
the North and East rivers and the Bay, the town was cut 
off from the rest of the island by a high palisade running 
from shore to shore. This was called the ''Wall," and 
the place where it once stood is still known as Wall Street. 
Beyond this palisade were many farms, among others one 
on Bowery Lane, which belonged to Peter Stuy Ves-ant, 
the fourth governor of the city. 

The settlers having been driven away from Fort Nassau, 
on the Delaware, by the Indians, some Dutch merchants 
soon sent Swedes to form a colony on the spot where 



145 



Wirming-ton now stands. The country around there was 
therefore called New Sweden. But the newcomers could 
not live in peace with the Dutch ; so Governor Stuyvesant 
attacked them, seventeen years later, and took possession 
of their town, so that New Sweden ceased to exist. 




Stuyvesant wanted the People to resist. 



It was while this fighting governor was at the head of 
affairs that King Charles's brother James, admiral of the 
English navy, first claimed his new territory. His ships 
appeared unexpectedly at New Amsterdam, and the as- 
tonished Stuyvesant soon received a letter ordering him to 
surrender the city. Although Stuyvesant had but one leg, 
he was a brave man, and wanted the people to resist. But 



146 

• 

they refused to fight, and made him so angry by their 
talk of yielding that he tore the English letter all to pieces, 

In spite of his rage, however, New Amsterdam surren- 
dered, and Stuyvesant had to march out of the town and 
return to Holland. The Dutch flag was hauled down 
and replaced by the English; but, as the city had been 
seized in time of peace, Holland soon showed her dis- 
pleasure by declaring war against England. Vessels were 
sent out to retake New Amsterdam, which surrendered 
the second time as easily as the first, and the Dutch again 
ruled over their city. 

But when the war was all over, the whole province of 
the New Netherlands was given up to the English. New 
Amsterdam's name was changed to New York (1664), and 
Holland never again claimed any part of our country. But 
the Dutch settlers continued to occupy their farms, and 
there are many people now in America who proudly claim 
descent from the early settlers of the New Netherlands. 
Interesting stories are told about the Dutch settlers, the 
most famous of all being Washington Irving's tales of 
Sleepy Hollow and of Rip Van Winkle. 

The Duke of York, owner of all the land in the New 
World which had once belonged to Holland, shortly gave 
part of it to two of his friends, who called their tracts East 
and West New Jersey. The owner of West New Jersey 
did not keep his share long, but sold it to some Quakers, 
who settled near Bur'ling-ton. East New Jersey was like- 
wise sold to William Penn and others ; but both provinces 
were given up to the crown in 1 702. New Jersey — as they 
were now called — was under the same rule as New York 
until 1738, when it became a separate colony. 



147 



XXXIX. PENN AND THE INDIANS. 

IN the meantime, the Friends in England had greatly 
increased in number. There were now many rich and 
clever people among them besides William Penn, who was 
a scholar and a preacher. He had become a Quaker in spite 
of all his father's efforts to make him a courtier, for the 
elder Penn was an admiral, and a great friend of Charles 
II., to whom he lent large sums of money. As the king 
could not repay this money, William Penn suggested, after 
his father's death, that Charles should give him, instead of 
all other payment, a large tract of land in the New World. 

Charles was only too happy to clear his debt in such an 
easy way. He therefore made Penn a grant of woodland, 
which he insisted upon calling Penn-syl-va'ni-a (" Penn's 
Woodland "). But we are told that Penn tried to bribe the 
clerk to write the name ** Sylvania " only, as he thought it 
absurd that the land should bear his name. In exchange 
for this tract, all the king asked was two beaver skins a 
year, and one fifth of all the gold and silver found there. 
The land secured, Penn prepared to carry out a long-cher- 
ished plan, which was to found colonies of Friends in the 
New World. For that purpose, he had already bought a 
share in the West New Jersey colony, and, in 1682, he 
crossed over to America himself. 

As soon as Penn set foot in West New Jersey, we are told 
that the colonists brought him a sod in which was planted 
a green twig, to show that he owned the land and all that 
grew upon it. Next they presented him with a dish full of 
water, because he was master of the seas and rivers, and 

STO. OF THTR. COL. — 10 



148 



with the keys of the fort, to indicate that he was in com- 
mand of the army and had all the power. Penn graciously 
accepted these offerings, and, as you shall see, made a 
noble use of his authority over his province. Although 
Pennsylvania had been given him by the king, he rightly 
considered the Indians the real owners of the soil, and 
decided to pay them for it. 








Penn's Treaty. 



He therefore sent for the chiefs, whom he met under a 
huge elm. Penn came among the Indians unarmed, and, 
after smoking a peace pipe with them, bargained for the 
purchase of a large tract of land. Under this elm he also 
made a treaty which lasted for more than sixty years, — 
" the only one never sworn to and never broken." 

On this occasion Penn made a speech, to which the 



149 

Indians replied by saying : " We will live in peace with 
Penn and his children as long as the moon and the sun 
shall endure." Then the two parties exchanged gifts, the 
Indians bestowing upon the Quaker a wampum belt on 
which a paleface and a redskin were represented hand in 
hand. This belt is still carefully kept by the Pennsylvania 
Historical Society. 

The elm under whose branches this interview took place 
was carefully preserved for many years. Even during the 
Revolutionary War, sentinels mounted guard over it, so 
that none of its branches should be cut off for fire wood. 
But in 1810 it was unfortunately blown down, and a 
monument, bearing the inscription," Unbroken faith," now 
marks the spot where Penn and the Indians first met. 

Before crossing the Atlantic, Penn had written out laws 
for his province, granting his people the right to do as 
their conscience bade in religious matters, to vote, and to 
be tried by a jury of twelve men. He now added that if 
there was any trouble between an Indian and a settler, the 
case was to be tried by six Indians and six colonists, to 
make sure that justice should be equally well meted out to 
both parties. 

When the Quakers first left England for the New World, 
people made great fun of them, declaring that, since the 
fighting Puritans, Dutch, and Virginians had such hard 
times with the Indians, the Quakers, whose religion for- 
bade them to return blow for blow, would soon be killed. 
They were greatly mistaken, however, for none of the 
colonies suffered less from the natives than Pennsylvania. 

The Friends were so gentle that they treated every one 
kindly, and a little story will show you how good and 



ISO 

generous even the children were. We are told that a lit- 
tle girl sat at the door of a log house, one day, eating her 
milk porridge. Her mother heard her softly say again 
and again: ''Now, thee sha'n't;" then, ''Keep to thy part." 
As no one was near, the mother stole up on tiptoe to find 
out to whom the child could be talking. Imagine her 
surprise when she saw her little girl sharing her supper 
with a big black snake, which ate from one side of the 
bowl while she helped herself from the other, patting him 
on the head with her spoon whenever he tried to come 
over to her side ! 

It was Penn himself who founded the first town in his 
grant. He called it Phil-a-derphi-a, or the " City of Broth- 
erly Love," because he wished all the people to live in 
peace together, like one family. The first houses were 
built of wood ; then brick dwellings were seen ; and each 
cottage was soon surrounded by a neat garden, in which 
bloomed gay flowers. Many Germans came over before 
long, at Penn's invitation, and settled just north of Phila- 
delphia, in what is still known as Ger'man-town. 

These were joined by other colonists, from different 
parts of central Europe ; and as the English did not perceive 
any difference between the various forms of the German 
language and that used in Holland, they generally called 
all the newcomers Dutch. These settlers managed to 
understand one another, however, by using a strange dia- 
lect, which is still heard in some parts of Pennsylvania, 
where it is now known as " Pennsylvania Dutch." 

As Pennsylvania had no seacoast of its own, Penn was 
glad to buy some land south of him, — called Del'a-ware, 
in honor of one of the governors of Virginia. Having 



151 



placed his colony on a good footing, Penn went back to 
England. He had spent much money in doing this, and 
was no longer as rich as he had once been. Besides, his 
opinions got him into trouble, and we are told he went 
to prison rather than pay what he thought an unjust 




Old Swedish Church at Wilmington, Delaware. 

debt. For a time he was even deprived of his lands; 
but they were finally given back to him, and he and his 
heirs ruled Pennsylvania until the Revolution. 

It was within the limits of Delaware that the Dutch, as 
we have seen, had built Fort Nassau. They were driven 
away by the Indians, and that part of the country belonged 
for seventeen years to the Swedes, who called it New 
Sweden. At the end of that time, however, it again fell 
into the hands of the Dutch, who, about eighteen years 
later, finally gave it up to the English, with all the rest of 
the New Netherlands. 



152 

• 

Thus within less than fifty years Delaware had com- 
pletely changed hands four times, when it was purchased 
by Penn as seaboard for his state. For a time it was part 
of Pennsylvania ; but after i 703 it had an assembly of its 
own, and it is counted as one of the thirteen famous Eng- 
lish colonies founded in North America. 



3>«4C 



XL. THE CATHOLICS IN MARYLAND. 

WHEN Henry VIII. made a change in the national 
church, many Catholics became discontented, and 
longed to leave England and settle elsewhere. One of 
these, Lord Bal'ti-more, then decided to make a home for 
CathoHcs in the New World. As the climate of New- 
foundland, where he tried to plant his first colony, proved 
too cold, he came to Virginia, in 1629. But the Virgin- 
ians, being Church of England people, refused to receive 
any Catholics in their midst. 

Thus driven away from Virginia, Lord Baltimore crossed 
to the opposite side of the Po-to'mac. He asked for a 
grant of land here, which was given, in 1634, to his son. 
He promised to pay the king two Indian arrows every 
year, with one fifth of all the gold and silver he found. 
This tract was called Ma'ry-land, in honor of the Catholic 
Queen Henrietta Maria, and prosperous settlements were 
made at St. Marys and at An-nap'o-lis. As he had 
promised that no one should be persecuted for religion, 
and that all except Jews could vote, people of every faith 
soon came thither, and Maryland was rapidly settled. 



153 

This colony, however, had its troubles, too. There was 
first a quarrel with Virginia, and then several Indian wars ; 
and when William became King of England, he took the 
government away from its Catholic proprietor. But later 
on, Baltimore's heirs, having turned Protestant, recovered 
their rights, and were left in control of the whole province 
until the time of the Revolution. Maryland's chief city, 
Baltimore, was founded about 1729. It was named in 
honor of the Catholic founder of the colony, and it still 
contains thousands of faithful Roman Catholics. 

Owing to mistakes made in drawing up the different 
grants, the boundary between Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land became a cause for disputes which lasted about fifty 
years. Several times surveyors were sent out from Eng- 
land to settle the quarrel, and the line they finally drew is 
generally known as the Mason and Dixon line. At the 
end of every mile, these surveyors set up a stone post, 
bearing on either side the initial of the colony it faced ; 
and every five miles, a larger pillar, with the arms of both 
families, the Penns and the Baltimores. 

While all the changes we have been describing were 
thus taking place in the rest of the New World, Virginia 
had not been standing still. Indeed, it had prospered so 
greatly that it had become the most important of all the 
colonies. But its progress was interrupted several times. 
For instance, three years after the founding of the House 
of Burgesses, a quarrel between an Indian and a settler 
ended in a murder, which brought about an Indian war. 

Powhatan, who had vowed that the sky should fall 
before the Indians broke peace with the Virginians, was 
now dead. The savages, hating to" see their former hunt- 



154 

• 
ing and fishing grounds occupied by the planters, now 

attacked the scattered settlements, and murdered men, 

women, and children. Even Jamestown itself would have 

been surprised, and all the colonists slain, had not a 

friendly Indian given the people timely warning. 

Terrified by this Indian outbreak, the colonists no 
longer dared occupy their plantations, and either crowded 
into a few of the towns or went back to England. In a 
short time the colony thus found itself reduced by half, 
although the Indians were beaten in the war. Some years 
later, seeing that the Indians were rising again, and that 
nothing but severe measures could save the settlement, 
another war was begun, and all the hostile Indians were 
either driven away or slain. 

When King James I. heard that the colony was failing, he 
fancied that the trouble arose from poor laws and bad gov- 
ernment ; so he took away the Virginia charter, and made 
the colony a royal province, in 1624. But although he 
boasted that he would soon make new and better laws for 
Virginia, he never did so. His son and successor, Charles, 
after whom one of the capes at the entrance of Chesapeake 
Bay had been named by the first settlers, also found too 
much to do at home to trouble himself about the Virgin- 
ians, who were sorely tried by tyrannical governors. 

Still, although they lived on the other side of the Atlan- 
tic Ocean, the colonists loudly insisted that they had the 
rights of free-born Englishmen. They therefore said that 
the governors the king sent over could not tax them or 
make new laws, except through the House of Burgesses. 
But as the governors would not always agree to this, quar- 
rels arose, which gradually became more and more bitter. 



155 



XLI. THE OLD DOMINION. 

IT was while Governor Berkeley ruled Virginia that 
Puritan England revolted against and beheaded King 
Charles I. ; and soon after that they made Cromwell Pro- 
tector of the new republic, or Commonwealth, of England. 
When these tidings came to Virginia, many of the colo- 
nists were indignant. Just as in England, the people 
sided for or against the king, the Puritans being called 
'* Roundheads," while the Royalists claimed the title of 
** Cav-a-liers^" 

The latter were by far the more numerous in Virginia, 
and as they prided themselves upon their great loyalty, 
they invited Charles II., son of the beheaded king, to 
come over and rule their colony, which they now affec- 
tionately called ** the Old Dominion." Charles did not 
accept this invitation, and Parliament, deciding that the 
colony should obey England, sent out a new governor. 
The latter, upon arriving in Virginia, declared that, accord- 
ing to the new Navigation Act, Virginia, like all the rest 
of the colonies, would have to send its produce to England 
in English ships. 

This law was very unjust, and the English captains who 
came into the bays and up the rivers for cargoes, now 
charged higher rates to carry produce to England. They 
could not get good prices for it in England, had to pay 
high prices for the goods they bought there, and, besides, 
asked heavy freight rates for bringing these goods back 
to the planters in Virginia. The colonists thus got little in 
exchange for their tobacco and other produce. They were 



156 

also greatly annoyed, for even the goods they wished to 
send to the neighboring colonies, or to the West Indies, 
had to be carried first to England and then back again, 
unless they paid a heavy duty. 

This was unfair, and the Virginians did not like it. Still, 
it did not prevent their colony from increasing rapidly, for 
many of the Royalists, finding life unbearable under Puri- 
tan government in England, came out to America. Here 
they talked a great deal of the royal family, prided them- 
selves upon being true to the exiled king, and when the 
news finally came that Cromwell was dead (1658), many 
Virginia planters openly rejoiced. 

Two years later, the royal family was restored in Eng- 
land, and the House of Burgesses recalled Governor 
Berkeley, who had ruled there in the days of Charles I. 
But the Burgesses warned him that, while they were loyal 
subjects of the king, they were fully determined to make 
their own laws, and that his duty would consist mainly in 
seeing that these were duly obeyed. 

Although the colonists thought their troubles would 
end when the king had come to the throne, they soon 
found out that Charles H. was a worse master than Crom- 
well. Always in need of money, the king not only kept 
up the hated Navigation Act, but, as Virginia had become 
the property of the crown in 1624, he now made a present 
of it to two of his friends, Lords Cul'pep-per and Arling- 
ton (1673), telling them they might keep it for thirty-one 
years, and have all the money they could make from it. 

These two noblemen, hearing that there were about 
forty thousand people in the Old Dominion, fancied they 
would be able to tax them as much as they pleased ; but 



157 

the colonists, who were proud of their rights and homes, 
grumbled at this change of owners, and said they would 
obey no one except the king. 

Jamestown was then the only city in Virginia ; but each 
plantation formed a small colony by itself, and people 
traveling from place to place were always hospitably 
entertained in the houses they passed. The estates were 
so large and scattered that there were very few schools ; 
but the richest colonists hired private tutors for their 
children, and sent their sons to the English universities to 
complete their education. In this, Virginia was different 
from the Northern colonies, and the greater part of her 
people were ignorant. Thinking they would therefore 
be easier to rule, a Virginia governor once boasted of 
the fact that they had neither printing press nor free 
schools, and added that he hoped they would not have 
any for the next hundred years! 



^>&^c 



XLII. BACON'S REBELLION. 

IN the midst of the trouble caused in Virginia by the 
change of owners, and the increased taxes they im- 
posed, the Indians, who had been quiet for about thirty 
years, suddenly came back. They said that while they 
had sold the land to the English, they still had the right 
to fish and hunt wherever they pleased. A dispute about 
this question again resulted in a murder, which — for his- 
tory often repeats itself — occasioned another war. 

Since Berkeley took no steps to defend them from the 



158 



savages, who boldly attacked outlying plantations, the 
Virginians determined to act themselves, and chose Na- 
thaniel Bacon as their leader. But Berkeley declared 
they were rebels, and hearing that they had started, he 
would have pursued them, could he have raised troops. 




Bacon's Rebellion. 

When the Virginian army came 
home in triumph from the first brush 

with the Indians, Bacon was called before the governor 
and tried as a rebel. But the jury promptly acquitted 
him, to Berkeley's great disgust. The governor waited 
until war broke out again, and when Bacon was too busy 
fighting to offer any resistance, he declared him an outlaw. 
This accusation, added to grievances about the taxes, 
caused a short civil war in Virginia, during which James- 
town was seized by the rebels, and Berkeley fled. 



159 



But the governor returned as soon as Bacon was called 
away, and prepared to defend himself in Jamestown. 
Hearing of this, Bacon came back, ready to lay siege to 
the city. The angry governor ordered out the cannon to 
shoot therebels ; 
but we are told 
that Bacon, hav- 
ing captured the 
wives of Berke- 
ley's men, now 
put these wom- 
en in front of 
his little force, 
know^ing their 
presence there 
would prevent 
any bloodshed. 

Thus routed 
by a *' white- 
apron brigade," 
Berkeley fled a 
second time ; 
and Bacon, fear- 
ing he might re- 
turn and fortify 

the city, burned Jamestown to the ground (1676). The 
first English city built in the United States thus became 
a heap of ruins, and no trace of it now remains, except a 
small part of the old church tower and a few gravestones. 

Shortly after the burning of Jamestown, Bacon fell ill 
and died, his followers sadly crying : *' Who is there now 




Ruins of Jamestown. 



i6o 



to plead our cause?" Their helpless grief was so great 
that Berkeley took advantage of it to return. He then 
began to punish all those who had taken any part in what 
is known in history as ** Bacon's Rebellion," Or the " Great 
Rebellion " in Virginia. 

In fact, Berkeley showed himself so cruel that many of 
those who had borne arms were condemned to die. Once, 
when a prisoner whom he particularly hated was brought 
before him, he angrily cried : '' You are very welcome ; I 
am more glad to see you than any man in Virginia ; you 
shall be hanged in half an hour." This prisoner was exe- 
cuted, and so many others shared his fate that King 
Charles, hearing how Berkeley abused his power, indig- 
nantly cried : '' The old fool has taken away more lives in 
that naked country than I for the murder of my father." 



>>»4c 



XLIII. A JOURNEY INLAND. 

WHEN Berkeley was called back to England in dis- 
grace, none of the Virginians were sorry to see him 
leave. But the new governor sent out by the owners was 
no better, for he laid such heavy taxes upon the people 
that the king finally had to take back the gift he had made 
to his friends. Virginia, therefore, once more became a 
royal province. But shortly after, King Charles died, and 
his Catholic brother, James, had to put down a rebellion 
in England before he could occupy the throne in peace. 
James was very resentful ; so many of those who had taken 
up arms against him were sentenced by a harsh English 



i6i 



judge to be shipped to Virginia and sold there as slaves 
for a term of ten years. 

But although both king and judge had decreed that none 
of these poor prisoners should be allowed to buy their 
freedom, the Virginians generously set them at liberty as 
soon as they landed. The governor, seeing it would make 
trouble if he tried to oppose the Virginians in this, made 
no great objection, and after that no white men were ever 
sold as slaves in America. 

Before long, too, another improvement was made ; for 
the Virginians, feeling that it was necessary to have a 
college of their own, sent a messenger to England for a 
charter. Although the king's ministers swore at this 
man at first, and told him that Virginians ought to think 
of nothing but tobacco, permission was finally granted, on 
condition that two copies of Latin verse should be sent to 
England every year. " The college thus founded — the 
second in our country — was called William and Mary, in 
honor of the king and queen who succeeded James II. in 
1688. 

Some years later. Governor Spots'wood built himself 
a beautiful house in Virginia, which he ornamented with 
large mirrors. But the woods were still so thick there 
that we are told a deer strayed into the parlor one day. 
Catching a glimpse of his reflection in a tall mirror, he 
rushed up to the glass and dashed it to pieces with his 
horns! 

This same Spotswood was of an adventurous turn of 
mind, and wishing to see what lay beyond the Blue Ridge 
Mountains, he once set out on a journey of explora- 
tion. It is said that he and his jolly companions crossed 



l62 



both the Blue Ridge and the AHe-gha-nies, coming home 
after a ride of about one thousand miles, dehghted with 
the beautiful country they had found on the other side of 
the mountains. 

They sent such a glowing account of this journey to 
King George I. that he knighted Spotswood, giving him 
a coat of arms bearing a golden horseshoe. Some writers 
add that, in memory of this long ride, Spotswood founded 
an order of knighthood in Virginia, which included all 
those who had made part of the expedition, and their 
direct descendants. 

XLIV. THE CAROLINA PIRATES. 

YOU remember, do you not, how Raleigh tried and 
failed to plant a colony on Roanoke Island, in what 
is now North Carolina? For about seventy-five years 
after this, that part of the country was left to the Indians 
and the few settlers who strayed there from Virginia. But 
in 1663 Charles II. gave a large tract of land to several 
of his favorites, who were called the lords proprietors. 
To flatter the king, they named the country Carolina, the 
very name which the French had given it many years 
before, in honor of their monarch, Charles IX. 

Now, the lords proprietors wanted to make this colony 
different from all the rest by placing all the power in the 
hands of the rich and noble, as was arranged by a code 
of laws drawn up by John Locke. But these laws could 
never be used, and to induce people to settle in Caro- 
lina at all, the lords proprietors had to promise them 



1 63 

large tracts of land, freedom of thought, and a share in 
making the laws. 

This granted, Quakers, Huguenots, Puritans, Scotch, 
Irish, English, Swiss, Germans, and Dutch came there in 
great numbers. In the north, the colonists devoted them- 
selves to lumbering, tobacco-raising, and the production 
of tar, pitch, and turpentine; but in the south, they grew 
a great deal of rice, indigo, and tobacco, and many sweet 
potatoes. 

At first, the French Huguenots tried to raise silk- 
worms in their new colony ; but they soon had to give up 
this attempt, because the climate proved too damp. Still, 
although unfavorable for silkworms, Carolina proved just 
right for the growing of rice. The first seed was brought 
to the governor of Charles^ton by a Mad-a-gas'car ship 
captain, who bade him plant it in marshy soil. There the 
rice grew so well that before long all the swamps were 
turned into rice fields, and Carolina rice is now famous in 
all parts of the country. 

Some fifty years later, a planter's daughter tried to raise 
indigo. After several failures, she succeeded in doing so, 
and indigo was raised in Carolina until the time came 
when cotton paid better. Thanks to its rice, tobacco, 
indigo, and marine supplies, Carolina became so rich and 
prosperous that, although it was the twelfth English colony, 
it soon outstripped several of the rest. The Carolina 
planters, growing rich, bought many negroes to work their 
large tracts of land, and spent the greater part of the year 
at Charleston, where they led a gay life and entertained 
a great deal. 

Carolina was also noted for her bold seamen, for all 

STO. OF THIR. COL.— II 



i64 

• 
along the coast there were many small harbors, in which 

pirates could hide. They sailed out of these places to 

attack vessels on their way to and from the West Indies, 

and often secured much booty. The best known of all 

the Carolina pirates was Blackbeard. Like Captain Kidd 

of New England, he is supposed to have buried great 

treasures in the sand along the coast, and there are still 

people foolish enough to try to find them. 

The Spaniards, who still held Florida, had always been 
jealous of the English. When the latter came to settle in 
Carolina and Georgia, the Spaniards, hoping to drive them 
away, stirred up the Indians to war against them, and 
sometimes took part in the fights themselves. Besides, 
many disputes arose about the boundaries, both parties 
being equally incHned to claim all the land they could. 

In 1729 the lords proprietors ceased to have any con- 
trol over their lands, which, divided into North and South 
Carolina, became two royal provinces. These prospered 
much during the following years, and by the time the 
Revolutionary War began. North Carolina ranked fourth 
in importance among the colonies. 

We have now seen how twelve of the English colonies 
were planted on our coast, and before traveling northward 
once more, to see how New England was getting along, 
you shall hear how the thirteenth and last colony was 
founded, in 1733. 

James O'gle-thorpe, a kind-hearted Englishman, per- 
ceiving the suffering of debtors, who were then imprisoned 
like criminals, longed to give them a chance to begin life 
over again. Thinking they could best do this in the New 
World, he asked George II. for a tract of land there, 



165 

promising to hold it in trust for the poor. This territory 
was called Georgia, in honor of the king ; and Oglethorpe, 
having assembled his colonists, sailed for America, 

Arriving at Charleston, he went southward and founded 
the city of Sa-van'nah. Before doing so, however, he had 
an interview with the Indians of that section, from whom 
he bought the land. In exchange for his gifts, they pre- 
sented him with a buffalo robe lined with eagle feathers, 
saying: "The eagle signifies swiftness, and the buffalo 
strength. The English are swift as a bird to fly over the 
vast seas, and as strong as a beast before their enemies. 
The eagle's feathers are soft, and signify love ; the buffalo's 
skin is warm, and means protection : therefore, love and 
protect our families." 

An attempt to cultivate olive trees and breed silkworms 
proved as great a failure in Georgia as in CaroHna; but 
rice soon became one of the staples of the colony, and the 
first fine cotton was raised there from seed brought from 
India. Oglethorpe, wishing to give his colony a good 
start, said that neither rum nor slaves should be allowed 
within its limits. But some of his colonists were dis- 
pleased at this, although both Oglethorpe and John 
Wesley — the founder of the Methodist Church — tried to 
convince them that they would be far better off if they 
did their own work and kept sober. Shortly after the 
visit of the Wesley brothers, White'field also came out to 
visit the Georgia colony, where he supported the first 
orphan asylum built in our country. 

In 1739, war having broken out between England and 
Spain, Oglethorpe led a small army of Georgians into Flor- 
ida, to besiege St. Augustine. To punish the Georgians 



1 66 



for this attempt to take their city, the Spaniards invaded 
their land three years later, but only to be defeated at 
the battle of Fred-er-i'ca. When these troubles came to 
an end, Oglethorpe went back to England. But even 
before his departure people began to change the laws, and 
in a few years they introduced both rum and slavery. 
Although Oglethorpe gave up Georgia to the king in 
1752, he took a great interest in the settlement he had 
founded, and as he lived to be very old, he saw it join 
the other colonies in 1776, for it was one of the famous 
thirteen. 

XLV. CHARTER OAK. 

AFTER King Philip's War was over in New England, 
^Charles II. turned his attention to the colony of Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, where four things did not suit him. The 
Navigation Law, which applied to all the colonies, was not 
kept in Massachusetts ; there were many quarrels between 
that colony and the settlements in Maine ; Massachusetts 
would not have an Episcopal church ; and it had coined 
money. To punish the colony for these things, Charles 
took away its charter (1679), and said that thereafter New 
Hampshire should form a separate royal province. 

The Massachusetts people were, of course, angry at 
being deprived of their charter; still, they managed to 
keep the money they had minted. These coins bore on 
one side a rudely stamped pine tree. Charles having asked 
to see one of them, the man who showed it to him care- 
fully explained that the picture represented the Royal 



i67 



Oak, whose branches had concealed the king when Crom- 
well's soldiers were seeking for him. This clever explana- 
tion so amused the merry monarch that he allowed Mas- 
sachusetts to retain its '* pine-tree shillings." We are also 
told that the mint master was allowed a certain number of 
these coins as pay. When his daughter married, he made 
her sit down in one scale, filled the other with '' pine-tree 
shillings " till the scales balanced, and gave her with this 
dowry to his new son-in-law, telling him he now had a 
wife who was really worth her weight in silver. 

When James II. came to the throne, he sent Governor 
An'dros to rule over New England and New York. This 
man, wishing to make sure all the power would be in his 
hands, tried to get hold of the charters of the colonies. 
But when he asked the people of Rhode Island to give 
up theirs, they gravely answered they did not have any. 

Next, he went to Hartford and asked the Connecticut 
Assembly to surrender their charter. The people, unwill- 
ing to give it up, argued 
about the matter until it 
grew so dark that candles 
had to be brought into 
the room. Seeing that 
the governor would yet 
compel them to obey his 
orders, a patriot. Captain 
Wadsworth, suddenly 
flung his cloak over the 
candles, and taking advantage of the darkness and con- 
fusion, seized the charter, which he cleverly hid in a hollow 
oak. This tree stood in Hartford until 1856, when it blew 




The Charter Oak. 



1 68 



down ; but the spot where the Charter Oak once stood is 
now marked by a monument. 

As there were no matches in those days, it took time to 
reHght the candles ; but as soon as that was done, Andros 
again demanded the charter. No trace of it could now be 
found. Andros, in a rage, then called for the record 
books of the colony, and writing Fhiis (** The End ") at 
the bottom of the page, declared he would rule Connecti- 
cut without any charter at all. 

He next proceeded to Boston, where he made the 
people equally angry by insisting upon holding Episcopal 
services in the Old South Church, by laying extra 
taxes upon them to pay for the building of a fine new 
chapel, and by trying to assume all the power. His 
tyrannical ways finally made the Bostonians so indignant 
that they put him in prison. 

Some of the governor's friends, who were called Tories, 
because they sided with the king, now tried to rescue 
him. They cleverly smuggled women's garments into 
the prison, and Governor Andros, dressed like a lady, 
would have gotten out of prison safely had not his big feet 
roused the suspicions of the guard. Shortly after, he was 
sent to England to be tried, and although he later governed 
Virginia, he never came back to New England. His mas- 
ter, James H., being as much disliked in England as Andros 
was in the colonies, had meanwhile been driven out of the 
country, where his son-in-law and daughter, William and 
Mary, came to reign in his stead (1688). 

The New England people, like most of the English, 
were delighted with this change of masters. They had 
cause to be, for Connecticut and Rhode Island were now 



1 69 

allowed to keep their old charters, while Massachusetts 
received a new one, by which the Plymouth colony and 
Maine were added to it, and by which the right to vote 
and partly govern themselves was assured to the people. 

But we are told that Governor Fletcher, who ruled over 
Connecticut after Andros, had so little respect for its 
charter that he once went to Hartford to assume command 
over the militia there. He, too, was met by Captain 
Wadsworth, who, having called out his men as requested, 
bade them beat the drums every time the governor tried 
to have his orders read. 

This scene must have been very funny; for while the 
governor roared, ''Silence!" Wadsworth loudly cried, 
*' Drum! drum, I say!" Finally the captain laid his hand 
on his sword, saying very firmly : '' If I am interrupted 
again, I will make the sun shine through you in a minute." 
Frightened by this threat. Governor Fletcher returned in 
haste to New York, and never made another attempt to 
tamper with the Connecticut charter.' 

At about the same time an interesting meeting was 
held by several Connecticut ministers at New Haven. 
They had decided they needed a new school, so each man 
brought a few books, which he laid down on the table, 
saying they were his contribution to the new institution. 
This school was held in different places at first, but in 
1 718 it took the name of Yale College, because a man of 
that name gave some books and money for its use. 

A few of the old Tories, both in England and America, 
remained faithful to the banished James, and among them 
was the governor of New York. When William and Mary 
were proclaimed rulers, this governor fled, leaving the 



170 

• 
colony without any head. LeTs'ler, a patriotic citizen, 

knowing the French and Indians in the north would take 

advantage of this state of affairs to invade the province, 

now rallied his friends around him, and with their help 

began to govern for William and Mary. 

But as Albany at first refused to obey Leisler, there 
was some trouble and bloodshed. Soon a messenger came 
over from England, to say that the king and queen were 
going to send over a new governor, named Sloughter. This 
messenger bade Leisler, in the meantime, give up the power 
to him ; but the patriot refused to do so, and surrendered 
it only to Sloughter when he finally came. 

Because of this refusal, Leisler and eight of his friends 
were accused of treason, and sentenced to death. But 
Sloughter, feeling that the trial had been hardly fair, would 
not sign their death warrants, so they could not be put to 
death. Leisler's foes, therefore, had to wait until a dinner 
party took place, when they made the drunken governor 
sign the papers, and hanged Leisler. A few years later, 
the whole affair was brought before Parliament, which de- 
clared that Leisler had died innocent, and paid his family 
a certain sum of money because he had been wrongfully 
accused and killed. 



XLVI. SALEM WITCHES. 

ABOUT four years after the Revolution of 1688, in 
/y England, arose the Salem witchcraft delusion, which 
you will now hear about. In olden times, as you have 
seen, people had very few and poor chances of learning, 



171 

compared with what you have now. Almost everybody 
then beHeved in witches. These were supposed to be 
persons who had sold their souls to Satan, could ride 
through the air on broomsticks, make others ill by looking 
at them with an evil eye, cast a spell upon cattle, houses, 
or furniture, and, in short, do all sorts of impossible 
things. 

As you know, some children have very lively imagina- 
tions, and hearing people talk of such things as seriously 
as if they were quite true, a few children in Salem, Mas- 
sachusetts, began to fancy they must be bewitched, because 
they were not quite well and had fits. The grown-up 
people, who should have known better and merely given 
the children medicine to cure their illness, believed these 
youngsters, and anxiously inquired who could have cast a 
spell upon them. 

The children, remembering that their elders often spoke 
of the witches as old, first began to talk of such and such 
a woman who had looked at them crossly or threatened to 
beat them with her staff when they played tricks upon 
her. These poor old creatures, who were really in their 
second childhood, and not responsible for what they said 
or did, were put into prison, and tortured in many cruel 
ways, so as to force them to confess that they were witches. 
Bewildered, and hoping to get free, some of the poor old 
creatures finally acknowledged that they were witches. 

Almost everybody believed in witchcraft at that time, 
and for many years supposed witches had been treated 
with great cruelty in Europe. When persons accused of 
witchcraft refused to confess, some people thought that 
the only way to find out the truth was to throw them into 



IJ2 

the water. If the victims sank, it was said they could not 
be witches, but if they swam, it was considered a sure sign 
that they had sold themselves to the Evil One, and they 
were sentenced to death, either by hanging, burning, or 
torture. But this was, after all, only a choice of deaths, for 
the poor creatures who sank were allowed to remain un- 
der water so long, to make sure they were innocent, that 
they were generally dead when taken out. 

Persons who were only suspected of witchcraft were put 
in the stocks, fastened to the pillory, whipped at the cart 
tail, or placed on the ducking stool, or had their ears 
chopped ofT. These were punishments often applied to 
criminals in those days, and if you care to see pictures 
of pillory, stocks, and ducking stool, you can find them 
in any large dictionary. Both men and women were ac- 
cused of witchcraft in Salem, and one of the men was put 
to death by a torture called peine foi'te et dtire, by which 
he was slowly crushed under a thick door, upon which 
tremendous weights were laid. He was, fortunately, the 
only person in our country who was ever punished in this 
inhuman way. 

Nearly one hundred and fifty people of all kinds were 
arrested for witchcraft in Salem, and nineteen of them, after 
being tried by a court, were found guilty and put to death. 
But people finally saw that it was all folly, and even the 
learned minister. Cotton Math'er, who had beHeved in 
witches just like the rest, had to own that he had been mis- 
taken. The children were now punished when they pre- 
tended to be under a spell, and the Salem witchcraft 
delusion came to an end. Ever since then, no one with a 
grain of sense has believed in witches ; but you will often 



73 




hear people speak of the terrible time they had in Salem 
while the belief in them lasted. The building shown in 
the picture was one of the houses of Salem at that time ; 
and it is still pointed out there as " the witch house." 

Mather, the 
famous ** Pa- 
triarch of New 
England, "who 
believed in 
witches, was a 
very learned 
man. Rewrote 
more books 
than there are 
days in the 
year, and was 
so busy that 
he wrote over 

his door, "Be short," so that people should not take up 
his time with idle talk. In one of his books he once read 
that smallpox could be prevented by vaccination. He told 
this to Boylston, a Boston doctor, who tried it on his own 
son and servants. But when the Bos-to'ni-ans first heard 
of it, they were so indignant that they wanted to kill 
Boylston. 

In time, however, people saw that the doctor was right, 
and ever since vaccination has been practiced, few people 
have died of the disease which once swept away whole 
families. Because Boylston went ahead and did what was 
right, in spite of people's threats, he is now greatly hon- 
ored, and a fine street in Boston bears his name. 



The Salem Witch House. 



174 



XLVII. DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI. 

WHILE the English were planting thirteen colonies 
along the Atlantic seaboard, between Nova Scotia 
and Florida, the French were equally busy farther north. 
As we have seen, Breton fishermen visited the banks of 
Newfoundland early in the sixteenth century, and gave 
their name to Cape Breton Island. Verr.azano and Cartier 
both crossed the Atlantic in behalf of the French, Cartier 
naming the St. Lawrence, Canada, and Montreal, and 
claiming all Acadia (the land east of Maine), together 
with New France, which was situated in the basin of the 
Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. 

Religious troubles had, as we have also seen, led Co- 
ligny to try to plant colonies in Carolina and Florida. 
But the Huguenot settlers were murdered by the Span- 
iards, and the attempt of De Monts (mawN) to establish 
a colony in Maine proved equally unsuccessful. The first 
real settlement of the French was made at Port Royal 
(Annapolis), in Acadia (Nova Scotia), in 1604. This 
colony, composed of thrifty people, in time became pros- 
perous, and the Acadians lived in peace and comfort in 
their new homes, being on excellent terms with all the 
neighboring Indians. 

In 1608, Champlain (sham-plan'), the ''Father of New 
France," a noble, brave, and good Frenchman, crossed 
the Atlantic for the fourth time. He sailed far up the St. 
Lawrence, and made a settlement at Quebec, which soon 
became the chief French town in America. Champlain 
explored the country for hundreds of miles around 



75 



there. He was the first European to behold the lake which 
bears his name, the same year that Hudson sailed up the 
river to Albany (1609). During these explorations of 




Old Quebec. 



T^^^f^ " ^ "^ New France, Champlain 

r"""-^^^ V ^^ made friends with the 

Al-gon'quin Indians, the 
great foes of the Ir-o-quois' (or Five Nations), who oc- 
cupied all the central part of what is now New York state. 
The Algonquin Indians, being at war with the Iroquois, 
persuaded Champlain to help them. His presence in 
armor in the next battle, and the report of European fire- 
arms, so terrified the Iroquois that they were badly beaten 
on the shore of Lake Champlain. This ever after made 
them hate the French as cordially as they did their lifelong 
enemies, the Algonquin Indians. To be able to cope with 
the latter, who easily got firearms from French traders, 



176 

the Iroquois began to buy guns from the Dutch; for their 
usual weapons, tomahawk and bow and arrows, were far 
less effective than firearms. 

The French had come to Quebec with two great pur- 
poses in view : the first, to trade for furs, and the second, 
to convert the Indians. The colonists were, therefore, 
either trappers, traders, or missionaries. The former 
went about from place to place to set their traps or trade 
with the Indians, and were therefore called voyageurs 
(travelers), or coiireiirs de bois (wood rangers). Finding 
the European dress unsuited to the rough life they led, 
these men soon adopted a half-Indian costume of soft 
deerskin, and learned many of the woodland ways of the 
redskins. 

Wherever the trappers and traders went, priests boldly 
followed, carrying only a crucifix, a prayer book, and 
sometimes a portable altar. They diligently taught, 
preached, and baptized, making every effort to learn the 
Indian languages as quickly as possible, so they could 
preach the gospel and win more converts. Full of zeal 
for their religion, these missionaries were so brave that 
they soon won the respect of the Indians ; and when the 
latter saw how quietly the priests endured hardships of 
all kinds, they lent an attentive ear to their teachings. 

Both traders and priests were on very friendly terms 
with the Indians, whose good will they retained by living 
among them and by making them frequent small presents. 
As the French hunters considered the Indians their equals, 
they soon married squaws, and their children, being half 
Indian and half French, strengthened the bonds between 
the two races. 



177 

Little by little, priests and traders pressed farther and 
farther inland, visiting the Great Lakes, along whose 
shores they established missions, forts, and trading posts. 
Finally, they came to what are now Il-li-nois' and Wis- 
con'sin, where many places still bear the French names 
then given them. 

The most remarkable of all these French traders was 
Joliet (zho-le-a^). Not only was he thoroughly at home 
in the trackless forests, but he could also talk several 
Indian languages. Hearing the savages tell of a great 
river flowing southward, he fancied that it must empty 
into the Pacific Ocean. 

Joliet had long been the companion of Marquette (mar- 
ket'), a Catholic priest, so they two resolved to go and 
explore that region. But the Indians tried to frighten 
them by telling them there were awful monsters on the 
** Father of Waters," which swallowed men and canoes. 

Fron'te-nac, the governor of New France, having con- 
sented to this journey, Marquette and Joliet met at the 
outlet of Lake Mich'i-gan (map, page 322), paddled up to 
Green Bay, and went up the Fox River. Then their Indian 
guides carried their canoes across to the Wisconsin River, 
where, bidding them farewell, the trader, priest, and five 
voyageurs drifted down the stream to the Mississippi. 
This was in 1673. Sailing southward for many miles, 
without seeing a single human being, the explorers came 
to huge cliffs upon which the Indians had painted rude 
demons ; then they beheld wide prairies and great herds of 
buffaloes on the right bank of the river. 

Some distance farther on they saw a path, and, follow- 
ing it, they came to an Indian village. When the Indians 



78 



saw the white men draw near, the chief came out to wel- 
come them, shading his eyes with his hand, and saying : 
** Frenchmen, how bright the sun shines when you come 
to visit us ! " To honor his guests, he had a feast of buffalo 



v4 



^^# -^'^v 



)-r^jj<ni'\T 




Marquette and Joliet come to an Indian Village. 



meat and fish prepared, and fed the strangers with a huge 
wooden spoon, just as if they were babies. Other Indians 
removed fish bones for them with their fingers, blew on 
their food to cool it, and from time to time poked choice 
bits into their mouths. As these were Indian good man- 
ners, Marquette and Joliet submitted as gracefully as they 
could. But it seems that it hurt their host's feelings when 
they refused to taste his best dish, a fat dog nicely roasted ! 
After spending the night with these Indians, Joliet and 
Marquette were escorted back to their canoes. Paddling 
on, they next came to the place where the Missouri joins 
the Mississippi. The waters of the Missouri were both 
swift and muddy, and whirled whole trees along as easily 



179 

as mere chips. After passing the mouth of the Ohio, 
the explorers saw Indians armed with guns and hatchets, 
which proved they were near European settlements. 

Fully convinced by this time that the Mississippi flowed 
into the Gulf of Mexico, and not into the Pacific Ocean, 
as they had first supposed, and anxious to make this fact 
known at Quebec, the explorers turned back, south of the 
mouth of the Arkansas (ar' kan-saw). They had thus 
reached nearly the same place which De Soto had visited 
about one hundred and thirty-two years before. Slowly 
paddling upstream, they now worked their way up the 
Illinois River, and carried their canoes overland to the 
Chicago (she-caw'go) River, through which they reentered 
Lake Michigan, after eighteen months' journey. 

Marquette staid at a mission on Green Bay for a 
while, then journeyed to the Illinois, and when spring 
came again, he made an efi"ort to get back to Mich-i-li- 
mack'i-nac. But he became so ill that before long he 
had to be carried ashore, and laid under a tree, where he 
breathed his last, and was buried. 

Meantime, Joliet hastened back to Montreal to make 
his report to the governor. His canoe upset, and his 
plans and papers were lost, but the news he brought made 
the French anxious to secure the land by building trading 
forts along the rivers that had been explored. 

It is because Marquette and Joliet were the first white 
men who visited this part of the country, that their names 
have been given to a port and county at the northern end 
of Lake Michigan, and to a town in Illinois. They were 
such bold explorers that beautiful monuments have also 
been erected in their honor. 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — 12 



I So 



XLVIII. LA SALLE'S ADVENTURES. 

IN the meantime, another French explorer, La Salle 
(lah sahl'), had also been at work, and had discovered 
the Ohio River. In 1679, six years after Marquette and 
Joliet sailed down the Mississippi, La Salle came to the 
Illinois River, where he built Fort Crevecceur (crav'ker) 
(** heartbreak "), near the place occupied by the present city 
of Pe-o'ri-a. 

La Salle next went back to Canada for supplies, and 
reached Montreal only by means of much paddling and a 
long tramp of a thousand miles. But he left orders with 
a priest, named Hen'ne-pin, to explore the upper part of 
the Mississippi River. Father Hennepin, therefore, went 
down the Illinois, and then paddled upstream to the Falls 
of St. An'tho-ny, in 1680. His adventures were very 
exciting, for he fell into the hands of the Sioux (soo) 
Indians. When he got back to France, he wrote his life ; 
but as he claimed the honor — which belongs to La Salle — 
of having first sailed all the way down the Mississippi, he 
has been called the *' big liar." 

When La Salle came back to Crevecceur a year later, he 
found his fort in ruins ; most of his men had deserted. At 
first he thought that his few faithful followers had been 
killed by the Indians, but his fears were quieted when they 
joined him at Michilimackinac. 

In 1 68 1 La Salle again set out, with his lieutenant Ton'ty 
and a band of Indians, for the southern end of Lake Michi- 
gan. Sailing up the Chicago, he had his canoes carried 
across to the Illinois River. It was the Indians who 



i8i 



taught the white men thus to pass from one stream to 
another, and to avoid falls and rapids. These carrying 
places received from the French explorers the name of 
*' portage," by which they are still known, even though no 
one now thinks of using them for that purpose. 

Sailing down the Illinois and Mississippi, La Salle 
reached the mouth of the latter stream in 1682. As was 
the custom with explorers of every nation, he solemnly 
took possession, in the name of his king, of the river and 
the land it drained. This territory, as you can see on 
your map, included most of the region between the Rocky 
and Alleghany Mountains, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf 
of Mexico; it was called Lou-i-si-a'na, in honor of Louis 
XIV. of France. 

Arriving at Quebec, after meeting with many adven- 
tures. La Salle told Frontenac that France ought to make 
good her claim to the land by building trading posts at 
intervals all along the principal streams. He added that 
it was also necessary to have a fort at the mouth of the 
Mississippi, and soon after went to France to tell the king 
about his discoveries, and ask for help. 

Louis XIV. gave La Salle several ships loaded with 
supplies; and a small army, of colonists having joined him, 
the explorer set out. His fleet reached the Gulf of Mexico 
in 1684; but, owing to some mistake, it sailed past the 
mouth of the Mississippi without seeing it. As the cap- 
tain would not believe La Salle and turn back, they coasted 
on until they finally landed at Mat-a-gor'da Bay, in Texas. 

Here a fort was built ; but the spot proved so unhealthful 
that many colonists died. The ships having gone back, 
run aground, or been dashed to pieces, the French could 



l82 



not get away again by sea. La Salle therefore decided to 
set out on foot, so as to joinTonty and obtain more supplies 
for his unhappy colony. 

As had been agreed, Tonty had come down the Missis- 
sippi to meet La Salle. But after waiting vainly for him 
several months, he went northward again, leaving a letter 
in the fork of a tree, and telling the Indians to give it to 
the first white man they saw. Long before reaching 
this place, La Salle's men became angry because their 
expedition had been a failure. They blamed their leader 
for all their sufferings, and, falling upon him unawares, 
basely murdered the man who is known as the " father 
of French colonization in the Mississippi valley." 

Although La Salle was dead, his plan was too good to 
be abandoned. Some thirteen years later, therefore, a 
Frenchman named Iberville (e-ber-veer) came out from 
France to found a fort at the mouth of the Mississippi. 
He sailed up the stream, and received from the Indians 
Tonty's letter, which, they gravely said, was a '' speaking 
bark." As Iberville found no good place for a fort near 
the mouth of the '* Father of Waters," he built Bil-ox'i, 
on the coast of what is now the state of Mississippi. 

Shortly after, a party of Frenchmen, exploring the banks 
of the river, saw an English ship sailing upstream. The 
newcomers said they had come to build a fort on the 
Mississippi ; but the Frenchmen either deceived them by 
telling them this was not the stream they sought, or gave 
them to understand they had come too late. So the Eng- 
lish turned around and sailed away, and ever since that bend 
in the great river has been called the " English Turn." 

Iberville's brother, Bienville (be-aN-veel'), in 1718 built 



■83 

a fort and established a colony on the spot where New 
Or'le-ans now stands. He gave the place that name in 
honor of the French city of Orleans. 

There was no more trouble with the English, but this 
colony came very near being swept away by the Natch'ez 
Indians, who made an agreement with the Choc'taws to 
fall upon the white men on a certain day and hour, and 
kill them all. To make sure that there should be no mis- 
understanding, each chief was given a small bundle of 
sticks, with directions to burn one every day, making the 
attack only after the last had been consumed. 

An Indian boy, seeing his father burn one of these sticks, 
stole two, and secretly set fire to them ; and though he 
thus found out that they were nothing but ordinary wood, 
his theft made his father attack the French two days too 
soon. 

Instead of a general raid upon all the settlements, only 
one was surprised, two hundred men being killed, and the 
women and children carried off into captivity. The other 
French colonists had time to arm, and they defended them- 
selves so bravely that the plans of the Indians came to 
naught. 



XLIX. INDIANS ON THE WARPATH. 

THE French were in possession of Acadia, New France, 
and Louisiana. The immense tract of land drained 
by the St. Lawrence and Mississippi rivers was rich in 
fur-bearing animals, whose pelts were brought by Indians 



1 84 

and trappers to the missions and trading posts. There 
they were loaded in canoes and floated down the Lakes 
and the St. Lawrence, or down the Mississippi, so as to be 
shipped to France from Quebec and New Orleans. 

You might think that the French would have been sat- 
isfied with all they had, but they were not. They longed 
to control the Hudson also, which they claimed for France, 
because they said Verrazano had first visited New York 
Bay. Besides, Champlain had come within a few miles of 
where Albany now stands, shortly before Hudson sailed 
up the river bearing his name. 

Longing for an excuse to drive the English away from 
the Hudson valley, the French were glad when war was 
declared, in 1689. Their king sent over Count Frontenac 
to be governor of Canada again, and to lead in the struggle 
with the English. Frontenac was a good general, and had 
much influence over the Indians. He is said to have joined 
in their war dances and athletic sports, in spite of his old 
age, and to have boasted of the tortures he meant to in- 
flict on his English foes and their Iroquois allies. 

But when Frontenac arrived in Canada (1689), he found 
that the Iroquois had struck first. They had destroyed 
some French villages, had killed many settlers, and had 
even roasted and eaten some of their captives in sight cf 
Montreal. On the other hand, some Indian allies of the 
French had surprised Dover, in New Hampshire. Here 
dwelt Major Wardron, .who had taken part in King 
Philip's war. To avenge the capture of two hundred of 
their race at that time, the savages now tortured Waldron 
to death, cutting off his hand to see how much it weighed. 
To their amazement, the scales marked just one pound! 



i85 

This awed them greatly, for although the traders had 
always told them that a white man's hand exactly balanced 
a pound of beaver skins, they had always doubted the 
truth of that statement. Half the people in Dover were 
killed, the rest carried off into captivity, and the town 
reduced to ashes. 

The next winter (1690), Frontenac sent a small band of 
French and Indians against the village of Sche-nec'ta-dy, 
New York, on snowshoes. They arrived there in the dead 
of night. The place was defended by a high palisade, but 
the inhabitants felt so sure no one would attack them that 
cold night, that they had left both gates wide open, and 
guarded only by huge snow sentinels set up there in fun. 

Roused from sound slumbers by blood-curdling Indian 
war whoops, a few escaped, but only to die of cold on their 
way to Albany. Many of the rest were killed by the 
attacking party, who, after burning the place to the ground, 
withdrew with their captives and plunder. 

In the course of this struggle, — which is known in our 
history as '* King William's War," because it took place 
during that monarch's reign, — the French and Indians 
attacked many villages in New York and New England. 
The most daring of all their attempts was against Ha'ver- 
hill, a town not very far from Boston. Here much prop- 
erty was destroyed, and many people killed or captured. 

There are countless stories told of the deeds of valor 
done by men, women, and even little children in those 
terrible times. You shall hear the story of Hannah Dustin, 
of Haverhill, as an example. This poor woman was just 
recovering from illness, and was alone in the house, with 
her baby and nurse. Seven other children were out in the 



1 86 



fields with their father, who was 6usy with his plow. All 
at once, they were startled by a war whoop. Mr. Dustin, 
seeing the Indians between him and his house, and know- 




Mr. Dustin defending his Children. 

ing he could not save his wife, bade the children run to 
the blockhouse, while he bravely covered their retreat. 

Father and children reached the fort in safety ; but the 
Indians rushed into the house, killed the baby by dashing 
its head against the wall, and carried both women off as 
captives. After several days' march and much ill treat- 
ment Mrs. Dustin, her nurse, and two captive boys made 
up their minds to escape. One of the boys had learned 
from an Indian how to kill and scalp a foe ; so one night, 



i87 

when their captors were asleep, the four prisoners noise- 
lessly rose, seized tomahawks, and killed and scalped ten 
Indians. Then they took a canoe, and with some trouble 
made their way home. Mrs. Dustin received fifty pounds 
reward for those scalps, besides a present from the gov- 
ernor of Maryland, who admired her pluck. That people 
might not forget what hard times the settlers had, her 
statue has been placed in Concord, New Hampshire, where 
you can see her grasping a tomahawk, ready to kill her foes. 
As long as the war lasted. New Englanders and New 
Yorkers defended themselves as bravely as they could. 
But Indian foes were very hard to fight, because they 
always fell upon people unawares. In their anger, the 
colonists finally determined to carry the war into the 
enemy's country. They therefore sent out a fleet under 
Sir William Phips, to attack and destroy Port Royal, in 
Acadia. This being done, the fleet tried to take Quebec, 
while armies from New York and Connecticut attacked 
Montreal. But both these attempts failed, and when the 
war was ended by the treaty of Rys\vick (1697), neither 
party had gained anything, although many lives had 
been lost. 

L. TWO WARS WITH THE FRENCH. 

BOTH the French and the English suffered greatly 
during King William's War, but the peace which fol- 
lowed it did not last long. Five years later, '* Queen Anne's 
War " brought about new sufferings, and more deeds of 
heroism. 



i88 



We are told that, urged by a French priest, the Indians 
built a church at St. Re'gis, in Canada. Wishing to have 
a bell to hang in the tower of this chapel, each convert 
brought a pelt, and the bell was ordered from France. 
But on its way over, it fell, by accident, into the hands 
of the English, who hung it up in the town of Deerfield, 
in Massachusetts. 

The Indians, feeling that the bell belonged to them, and 
egged on by their priest, made a sudden raid upon Deer- 
field, in 1704, and, after killing or capturing many of the 
people, rescued their bell from the English meetinghouse, 
or church, and carried it off to St. Regis. They were so 
delighted with it that it is said they rang it every step of 
the way. This bell was cracked over a hundred years 
later, and the Indians, who still prized it greatly, carried it 
to Troy, where they had it refounded, while they mounted 
guard over it day and night. 

France and Spain were allies in this war, so the trouble 
was not confined to New York and New England. The 
Spaniards made a raid from St. Augustine, and vainly 
attacked Charleston. A few years later, the New Eng- 
landers conquered Acadia, and at the treaty of U'trecht, in 
1 7 13, the British received this province, Newfoundland, 
and the land around Hudson Bay. But Acadia's name 
was now changed to Nova Scotia, and Port Royal was 
called Annapolis, in honor of the English queen. 

For the next thirty years peace reigned unbroken ; still, 
during that time the French began to build their chain of 
sixty forts along the Lakes, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, 
thus drawing a line from the mouth of the St. Lawrence 
to the mouth of the Mississippi. Most of these forts have 



i89 




since become cities, and you will find that many of them 
still bear the French names given by their founders. Their 
strongest fort, however, was at Lou'is-burg, on Cape Breton 
Island. It was so well fortified that the French boasted 
that even women could defend it against a large army. 

The third struggle with the French and Indians, which 
began in 1744, is known in our country as "King 
George's War," and in Europe as the " War of the Aus- 
trian Succession." 



I90 

• 

Now, Louisburg was so near Annapolis that the colo- 
nists felt sure the French would set out from there to re- 
cover Acadia. They therefore sent a messenger to Eng- 
land to explain their danger and beg for troops to protect 
them. But the prime minister knew so little about 
America that the messenger had to show him Louisburg 
and Annapolis on a map. He was so surprised then to 
discover that Cape Breton is an island, that he ran off to 
tell it to the king as a great piece of news. 

Seeing that the British did not supply much help in 
answer to their appeal, the colonists before long made up 
their minds to take Louisburg themselves; and an army 
of them bravely set out from New England, under the 
leadership of Pep'per-ell, in 1745. After six weeks' siege, 
and many deeds of daring, these four thousand New Eng- 
landers took the fortress, and when the news reached 
Boston the people almost went mad with joy. Three 
years later, however, this joy was turned to equally deep 
sorrow, for when the treaty of Aix-la-Cha-pelle' (1748) 
was signed, the fortress was given back to France, in ex- 
change for the town of Ma-dras' in India. 

Three wars had now been fought between the French 
and the English, but the vexed question as to who should 
own North America was not yet settled. The French had, 
as you have seen, taken possession of the Mississippi val- 
ley ; but although some rumors of their presence there 
had reached the colonies, very few people really knew 
what the country was like, and what a vast tract of land 
France could thus claim. 

Many of the English colonies had received grants of 
land running *' from sea to sea," and now that population 



191 

was increasing rapidly, people began to talk of crossing 
the Alleghany Mountains to settle on the other side. They 
were eager to do so, because hunters brought back to 
Virginia glowing descriptions of the Ohio, or '* Beautiful 
River," the " Gateway of the West," and of the fertile lands 
through which it flowed. Just at this time, the governor 
of Virginia heard that the French were on the point of 
building a fort on the Allegheny River, so he bade George 
Washington, a young surveyor, find out if this news was 
true, and carry a letter to the French officer there to 
warn him that the Ohio country belonged to Virginia. 



D>»<C 



LI. WASHINGTON'S BOYHOOD. 

As you are going to hear a great deal about W^ashing- 
/\ ton, it will interest you to learn something of his 
■family and his youth. Two Washington brothers came 
over from England to Virginia about the year 1657, and 
settled near the Potomac River. Augustine Washington, 
the grandson of one of these men, married twice, and had, 
in all, ten children. His eldest son by his second wife was 
born on February 22, 1732, and named George. Shortly 
after his birth, the family went to live on the Rap-pa-han'- 
nock River, and there George spent his early childhood. 
He was a fearless, strong, hot-tempered little lad, but, 
having good parents, was even then taught to control his 
passions. 

As he is the greatest man in our history, many stories, 
true and untrue, are told about him. Perhaps the most 



192 

famous is about his new hatchet. 'VJe are told that Father 
Washington planted young cherry trees in his garden. He 
visited them daily to see how they throve, and was very 
angry when he saw, one day, that a favorite tree was 
badly hacked. On all Virginia plantations, there were 
many negro children always running about. Thinking 
one of these had done the mischief, Augustine Washing- 
ton was about to punish him, when his little son stopped 
him, saying : '' Father, I cannot tell a lie ; I did it with my 
little hatchet." 

Washington was sent to a small school near by, and his 
blank books, which can still be seen, show what a careful, 
painstaking student he was. In one of these books he 
copied a set of rules for good behavior, which he even then 
tried to put into practice, and of which the last two were : 
" Let your recreations be manful, not sinful," and " Labor 
to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire 
called conscience." 

When Washington was only twelve, his father died, 
leaving an estate to each of his sons The care of the six 
younger children and of their property was left to his wife, 
a good and very sensible woman. She was very strict, 
and brought up her children so carefully that they all 
filled well their places in life. Indeed, her eldest son, 
George, like most truly great men, often said that he 
owed his mother more than words could ever tell. 

Washington was always fond of all athletic exercises, 
and as a lad delighted in riding the wildest horses on the 
plantation. Among these was one young colt of such a 
fiery temper that no one was allowed to mount him. One 
day, the temptation to do so became too strong for 



93 



George, and he suddenly sprang upon the horse's back. 

The colt tried to throw him off, and, failing to do so, 

dashed off at such a rate 

that he burst a blood 

vessel and fell down 

dead. 

Washington, dis- 
mayed at the result of 
his disobedience, went 
silently home. At ta- 
ble, his mother asked 
her guests if they had 
seen her beautiful 
young horse. Covered 
with blushes, — for he 
was always modest and 
reserved, — Washington 
now confessed what he 
had done. Although 
Mrs. Washington keenly regretted the death of the colt, 
she showed no anger, but quietly said: "It is well; but 
while I regret the loss of my favorite, I rejoice in my son, 
who always speaks the truth." 

She was so fond of this son that when one of his half- 
brothers wanted him to serve in the British navy, she re- 
fused to let him go. As soon as Washington had finished 
school, he went to live with this brother at Mount Vernon, 
where he learned to know all the people around there, and, 
among others, Lord Fair'fax. 

This nobleman owned great tracts of land in the valleys 
of the Alleghany Mountains, and as they had never been 




Washington and the Colt. 



194 



surveyed, he hired young George to do the work. This 
was a very hard task, and the seventeen-year-old Wash- 
ington was often, for days at a time, far away from any 
settlement, forced to depend upon hunting for food, and 
obliged to sleep out in the open air. 

These hardships, however, only made him strong and 
self-reliant, and when he came back to his home, from 
time to time, he doubly enjoyed the amusements of 

the young peo- 
ple, and danced 
gayly, a pastime 
of which he was 
always fond. It 
was probably 
during one of 
these surveying 
expeditions that 
Washington first 
visited the Nat- 
ural Bridge in 
Virginia. Here 
he showed his 
athletic skill by 
tossing a coin on 
top of it when 
standing almost 
directly under 
it. 

We are also told that he scaled the rocks, which were 
then free from any except nature's marks, and reaching a 
high point, carved his name in the stone. For years, 




The Virginia Natural Bridge. 



^95 

Washington's name is said to have stood there on the 
rocks, as far above all the rest as is his worth compared 
with that of other men. But a young man once climbed up 
there to carve his name above Washington's, an act of 
presumption for which every one scorns him. He went 
up so far that he could not come down again, but had to 
climb higher and higher, and at last be drawn to the top 
with a rope. 

LII. WASHINGTON'S JOURNEY. 

BY the time Washington was nineteen, he had shown 
himself so capable, honest, and thoroughly trust- 
worthy that every one who knew him greatly respected 
him. His brother Lawrence having fallen ill of consump- 
tion, Washington went with him to Bar'ba-dos, where he 
had an attack of smallpox. 

This journey, the only one Washington ever made out- 
side the limits of our country, was so interesting to him 
that he kept a diary in which he made note of all he saw 
and heard. After a winter spent in the West Indies, 
Washington came home to get his sister-in-law ; but before 
they could sail to join the invalid, they heard he was 
coming home to die. 

Washington tenderly nursed this older brother to the 
end, and was made the guardian of his delicate little girl. 
Lawrence Washington said that if his daughter died un- 
married, the estate of Mount. Vernon was to belong to 
George. In spite of all Washington's tender interest in 
this httle niece, and of the utmost care, she did not live 



196 

long, and, as his brother had wished, Washington became 
owner of Mount Vernon. There he began his favorite occu- 
pation as a planter, and showed himself to be as careful and 
painstaking a farmer as he was a surveyor. 

We are told he packed his tobacco himself, and sent 
such eood flour to the West Indies that barrels marked 
" George Washington " were always allowed to pass the 
customhouse without being examined. Besides filling his 
place as surveyor and planter, Washington also became 
major in the Virginia mihtia, and took great interest in 
all military affairs. 

When the news of the Frenchmen's purpose to build 
forts along the Allegheny and the Ohio reached Governor 
Din-wid'die, he resolved, as we have seen, to send out a 
trustworthy person to see if it was true, and to carry a 
letter to the commander of the French force (1753). His 
choice promptly fell upon Washington, who, receiving his 
instructions, and perceiving the need of haste, started out 
that same day to carry out the governor's orders. 

He made his way across country to Logstown, where 
he heard that the French commanding officer was on an 
upper branch of the Allegheny River. He therefore went 
thither, and delivered his letter. But the Frenchman 
shrugged his shoulders, and said he would send the letter 
on to Governor Duquesne (doo-kan'), whose orders he 
was in the meantime bound to carry out. Tramping thus 
through the wilderness in the dead of winter, Washington 
found out all Governor Dinwiddle wished. Seeing he 
must hasten, if the French were to be checked, the young 
officer left his guides, baggage, and horses, and, alone with 
Gist, — an experienced hunter and trapper, — went back to 



197 

Virginia by a short cut. During this journey he and Gist 
liad several narrow escapes. 

Once an Indian — who had probably been bribed by the 
French to kill them — shot at them. Gist and Washing- 
ton, suspecting treachery, pretended it was only an acci- 
dent ; but when the Indian left them at night, promising 
to come back in the morning, they promptly broke camp. 
Pressing forward all night, they reached the Allegheny 
early in the morning, and found it only partly frozen. As 
they could not cross on the ice, as they had hoped, they 
plied their one dull hatchet with such a will that they soon 
cut down several trees and built a rude raft. 

But when they got out into the stream, Washington's 
pole caught in the ice and jerked him out into ten feet of 
ice-cold water. Grasping the raft, Washington escaped; 
but his clothes were dripping wet, and a few moments 
later they were frozen stifif. The raft was now driven on 
an island, where Gist lighted a fire as quickly as possible ; 
and here Washington spent the night, turning around and 
around so as to dry his clothes. Luckily, on the next 
day the travelers found that the ice was strong enough to 
bear them, and, crossing over to the other side of the 
river, they hurried on. 

After visiting an Indian queen, with whom he made 
friends by giving her a few trinkets, Washington went on 
to Virginia, where he gave Governor Dinwiddle all the 
necessary information. The governor was so pleased with 
what Washington had done, and thought his news so im- 
portant, that he published Washington's journal. Then, 
to carry out the orders he had received from England, and 
make sure the land south of the Ohio should not be 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — 13 



198 

snatched away from him, Dinwi(fdie raised a force of two 
hundred men, and sent them to build a fort at the forks of 
the Ohio. While these men were busy erecting their stock- 
ade, the French, one thousand strong, came down from 
Ve-nan'go, on the Allegheny, and, driving the English 
away, completed the fort for their own use, calling it 
Duquesne, after their governor. 



3>S^<: 



LIII. WASHINGTON'S FIRST BATTLE. 

WHEN the Virginians learned that the French had 
driven their men away from the forks of the Ohio, 
and had taken possession of the fort they had just begun, 
they were naturally very angry. Seeing that they would 
lose all claim to the land unless they drove the French 
away, they now determined to raise enough men and 
money to equip an army. Before long, therefore, Wash- 
ington was sent out with about three hundred men, and he 
was busy erecting a small breastwork (called Fort Neces- 
sity) at Great Meadows, when he heard that the French 
were near there. 

Setting out immediately, he surprised and defeated this 
force; but learning that more troops were coming, he 
prudently retreated to Fort Necessity, at Great Meadows, 
which he once described as '* a charming field for an 
encounter." Here the French and Indians soon attacked 
him in such numbers that, in spite of his valor, he was 
forced to surrender, on July 4, 1754. Washington's men 
had behaved so bravely that the French allowed them to 



199 

march out with the honors of war; that is, taking their 
flag and their arms with them. 

In describing this battle, Washington is reported to 
have said ; ** I heard the bullets whistle, and believe me, 
there is something charming in the sound." But later on, 
when he had seen what a sad thing war really is, and 
some one asked if he had ever said this, he quietly an- 
swered : " If I said so, it was when I was young!" 

When Washington and his troops came back to Virginia 
after the battle at Great Meadows, the colonies saw that 
the French were fully determined to leave them no land 
west of the AUeghanies. They had felt so sure of this 
that a few weeks before the battle they sent men to Albany 
to discuss how they could best resist their enemies, and 
keep what they claimed as their own. 

Still, in one sense, neither French nor English had any 
right to this land, for as a bewildered Indian chief remarked 
when he first heard of the dispute : *' If the French claim 
all the land north of the river, and the English all the land 
south of it, where is the land of the Indians? " 



D^«^C 



LIV. STORIES OF FRANKLIN. 

ONE man was to have a great share in the last French 
and Indian war, although he was no soldier. This 
man was Franklin, and as he is one of the greatest men in 
our history, it will surely interest you to hear a little 
about him. 

Born in a poor family in Boston, the lad was named 



200 



Benjamin, probably because he was his father's twelfth child. 
With so many brothers and sisters older than himself, 
Benjamin was not spoiled. As they were all very poor, 
he was often obliged, small as he was, to help his father 
make soap and dip tallow candles, a work he greatly dis- 
Hked. But as there had been free schools in New Eng- 
land from the very beginning, Benjamin learned to read 
out of the New England Primer when only a tiny boy. 
He has told us many stories of himself ; among others, one 
of his childhood which you ought to know, because it 
has given rise to an American proverb. 

It seems that Benjamin once had a few pennies. This 
was a great fortune for so small a lad, and although his 
brothers and sisters teased him to know what he was 
going to buy with them, he would not tell. On the street, 
one day, he saw a big boy blowing a whistle with all his 
might. This whistle so fascinated little Benjamin that, 
after talking to its owner awhile, he gave all his pennies 
in exchange for the toy. 

Marching home, Benjamin proudly exhibited his treas- 
ure, thinking he had made a great bargain and bought the 
finest thing in the world. His disappointment was very 
keen, therefore, when his brothers told him that it was only 
a common whistle, such as he could have bought any- 
where for one penny ! Ever since then, when any one 
pays too much for pleasure, or anything else, people have 
said : *' He has paid dear, very dear, for his whistle." 

As was the custom in all Puritan families, the Franklins 
had long prayers, and they said such a lengthy grace before 
meals that hungry little Benjamin often grew impatient. 
As their breakfasts generally consisted of smoked and 



20I 



dried herring, he once suggested that his father should say 
grace over the whole barrel, so that he need not stop to 
repeat it every time the fish was served ! 

Franklin's father was too poor to let him go on with 
his studies, so at twelve Franklin became apprentice to 
an older brother, the printer of the fourth newspaper 
issued in our country. Here Franklin learned to set type 
and to handle the rude press then in use. He also began 
to write, and as he did not want his brother to know it, he 
disguised his handwriting, and slipped his contributions 
under the shop door at night. 

These articles, written by a boy of fourteen, proved so 
able that the brother read them aloud to his friends, who 
greatly praised them, little suspecting that they were 
written by the apprentice setting type in the corner. 
But Benjamin's elder brother proved so unkind to him 
that the boy left Boston at seventeen, and, embarking 
upon a coasting vessel, went to New York, where he 
vainly sought employment. 

There he heard that work was to be had in Philadel- 
phia, then the largest city in our country. A stage ran 
between that place and New York twice a week, making 
the journey in two days. This rate of travel seemed so 
very rapid then that this coach was generally called the 
" Flying Machine." But as Franklin did not have the 
means to pay for a seat in this conveyance, he embarked 
on a sloop, working his way. After several days' tacking, 
a long, weary tramp, and a row on the Delaware, he landed 
in Philadelphia early one morning. 

By this time he had only a few pennies left, which, 
as he felt hungry, he soon gave to a baker for three 



202 



large rolls. The small amount of luggage he had with 
him was thrust into his coat pockets, and with a roll under 
either arm, and one in his hand, Franklin strolled down 
the street, munching his bread as he walked along. A 




Franklin's Entry into Philadelphia. 

girl standing on her father's doorstep laughed at the awk- 
ward lad passing by, little thinking that a few years 
later she would be his wife. 

Finding employment in Philadelphia, Franklin worked 
hard, studying as much as he could after hours. Every 
book he could buy or borrow was eagerly read, and he 
paid small sums to booksellers for the loan of their volumes 
overnight, sitting up late and rising early so as to get all 



20 



he could out of them. Franklin loved books so dearly 
that he soon learned a great deal about foreign countries. 
He longed to visit them, and therefore gladly welcomed a 
proposal to go to England and buy a printing press. 

As the governor of Pennsylvania promised to supply 
the necessary funds, Franklin set out ; but upon landing in 
England he found that the governor had deceived him, 
and that there was no money to be had. Alone in a 
foreign land, without means or friends, Franklin again 
sought employment, and worked for an English printer 
during the next few years. By dint of hard work and 
great economy, he managed to save money enough to bring 
him ba.ck to Philadelphia, at the age of twenty. Then, 
after working as clerk and printer for a while, Franklin 
set up in business for himself, and married. 

Besides printing a newspaper, — for which he wrote the 
articles, set the type, handled the press, and even carted 
the paper to his shop in a wheelbarrow, — Franklin soon 
began to publish a pamphlet called " Poor Richard's 
Almanac." It contained not only the usual information 
about sunrise and sunset, the moon, tide, and weather, but 
many short sayings, full of good advice. They were so 
easily remembered, and so often quoted, that some of them 
have become household sayings. A few are : " No 
gains without pains." " Never leave that till to-morrow 
which you can do to-day." "Time is money." "Keep 
conscience clear, then never fear." 

You might think that FrankHn was busy enough with 
all this work ; still, he managed to learn a great deal 
besides French, German, Spanish, and Italian, which he 
studied alone and at night. He founded the first public 



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^4^^^ jVf^;;, as Poor Dick fays, /^^ir« fy 

*5 o/^^r/ Harms, FfioCs fcarceh by tbiir e*wn j 
20 K,.^ r./.„ y^ "^ -^ _ . . 



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30 



Richard fays, '77/ foolijh to lay out Money 
in a Pur chafe of Repentance \ and yet this 
Folly is praflifed every Day at Vendues, 
tor want of minding the Almanack. 



but, 



Felix quern faaunt attena Pcricula 
Many a one, for the Sake of 
Finery on the Back, have gone with a 
hungry Belly, and half ftaived their Fa-j 
miliesj Silks and Sait'ms, Scarht andyei 
'vetSy as Poor Richard fays, put out the 
Kitchen Tire, Thefe are not the Neceffa- 
ries of Life j they can fcareely be called 
the Convenjencies, and yet oiuy becaufe 
they look pretty, how many Tuant to 

6 have them. The artificial Wants of Man 

7 kind thus become' more numerous than 
the natural \ and, as Poor Dick fays. For 
one poor Perfon, there ate an hundred in- 
digent. By thefe, and other Exti-ava- 
ganoies, the Genteel are reduced to Po- 
verty, and forced to borrow of thofe 

.^3 whom" they formerly defpifed, but who 

^4 through Indufry and Frugabfjihave main- 

5 tained their Standings in which Cafe it 

appears plainly, that a Ploughman on his 

Legs is higher than a Gentleman on his 

Knees-, as Poor Richard fays. Perhaps 

they have had a fniall Mate left them: 

D * which \ 



(204) A Page from Poor Richard's Almanac 



205 

library in Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, and 
the first fire brigade, the first insurance company, and the 
first hospital in the city. Besides that, he invented the 
first good stove, advised paving the streets, and was con- 
stantly in political office from the time he was thirty until 
he died, at the age of eighty-four. 

Franklin was so interested in sciences that he studied 
them closely, too; and in 1752, after thinking the matter 
over a long while, he decided that lightning must be the 
same thing as the electricity produced by rubbing a cat's 
fur. He therefore determined to bring lightning down from 
the clouds, to find out whether he was right. After many 
experiments, he built a kite, fastened a sharp point to it, 
and flew it one stormy day. He had taken all his meas- 
ures so carefully that he thus really drew down some elec- 
tric sparks from the sky. 

As Franklin was a very practical man, he immediately 
made use of this knowledge to invent lightning rods for 
protecting churches and houses from thunderbolts. His 
discovery, ridiculed at first, soon became known abroad, 
and thus Franklin was the first American who won a 
European reputation. 

Franklin's kite-flying paved the way for all the wonder- 
ful discoveries since made in electricity, many of which 
he then foretold, although people thought he was only 
joking. Indeed, we are told he even demonstrated the 
deadly effect of a live wire by killing a turkey on the other 
side of the river! When his discoveries became known 
in Europe, they created a great sensation, and the " Frank- 
lin experiments " were for a while all the fashion. 



2o6 



LV. BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT. 

IN 1754, Franklin, deputy postmaster-general of the 
colonies, was sent to Albany, where, as we have already 
seen, a congress of delegates from the colonies met to 
discuss the best way of opposing the French. Frankhn, 
knowing that it was only by working all together that the 
best results could be reached, now made a plan for the 
union of the colonies. 

As one can often make people understand things better 
by telling them stories or showing them pictures, Frankhn 
remembered the common beHef that a snake, cut into pieces, 
would become whole again if the parts were allowed to 
touch. He therefore placed at the head of his paper the 
picture of such a snake, cut into pieces to represent the 
colonies, which he further indicated by their initials. Under 
this picture he wrote the motto: "Join or die." 

Although the colonies did not adopt Franklin's plan 
of union, they nevertheless voted men and money for the 
war. The British, on their part, sent over General Brad- 
dock, one of their best officers, to take charge of the cam- 
paign. Meeting the governors of the different colonies in 
Virginia, Braddock decided that, while one army marched 
north from Albany to take Forts Ti-con-der-o'ga and 
Crown Point before going on to Quebec, a second should 
move westward from the same point to Lake On-ta'ri-o 
and Niagara. 

In the meantime, a fleet was to sail from New England 
to join the first army in besieging Quebec. But the fourth 
and principal expedition, led by Braddock himself, was to 
march across Pennsylvania to Fort Duquesne, so as to 



207 



drive the French out of the coveted Ohio valley. This 
plan was very fine; but Braddock, used to the European 
way of fighting, Httle knew how to carry on war with the 
French and Indians in the pathless forests. 

Washington now advised Braddock, his superior officer, 
to leave the heavy baggage and cannons behind ; but the 
British general would not consent. After much delay, 
the Pennsylvania farmers loaned their wagons and horses 
to carry the baggage, thanks to Franklin's personal efforts, 
and the army set out. But as Braddock insisted upon 




the army's marchmg along 

in an orderly file, a road 

had first to be built, and 

Washington once impatiently 

said that they stopped " to 

level every molehill." 

Washington knew it would 
be best to advance rapidly and surprise Fort Duquesne ; 
but the army moved slowly until, at about eight miles from 
the fort, it was suddenly attacked by the French and In- 



208 



dians. The British soldiers, clad *n red and marching in 
close ranks, made fine targets for their enemies, who, as 
usual, hid behind every tree and rock, whence they poured 
a deadly fire upon them. Braddock bravely rallied his 
men again and again ; but not knowing how to fight 
unseen foes, they were helplessly slain. The general him- 
self, after seeing great numbers of his men and officers fall, 
was mortally wounded, and had to order a retreat. 

In the midst of this horrible scene, Washington and his 
Virginian soldiers alone kept cool. Four bullets passed 
through Washington's coat, and two horses were killed 
under him, for the Indians aimed specially at him. But 
all their bullets failed, and they afterwards said with awe 
that he surely bore a charmed life, and that no shot could 
ever touch him. 

Nearly all the officers were killed, but Washington man- 
aged to cover the retreat of the British, and their wounded 
general was picked up and borne off the battlefield of the 
Mo-non-ga-he'la. Braddock was now full of remorse for not 
following Washington's advice, and he died four days 
later, saying: " Who would have thought it? Who would 
have thought it ? We shall better know how to deal with 
them another time." 

Washington sadly buried the brave general in the 
Pennsylvania woods, making the army march over his 
grave, so that no trace of upturned soil should betray to 
the Indians his last resting place. Then the beaten 
and disheartened troops slowly made their way back, 
encouraged by Washington, who, going afoot, shared all 
their hardships, and relieved the weary men by loading 
their muskets and baggage upon his own horse. 



209 



The army marching westward from Albany had, in the 
meantime, paused discouraged at Os-we'go, while the one 
moving northward beat the French on the shores of a 
lake, which they called George, in honor of the victory 
won for their king (1755). The French officer Dieskau 
(dees'kow) was captured there, and among the English 
dead was Ephraim Williams, who left his fortune to found 
the college in Massachusetts which bears his name. 

Fearing that the Acadian farmers, who still spoke French 
and loved their mother country, would turn against them, 
the British now tried to make the peasants take an oath of 
fidelity. When they refused, the men and boys were bid- 
den to assemble, and then, after some delay, they and their 
families were sent on board British ships and taken away 
(1755). In the confusion several families were separated. 
Thus ruthlessly torn from home, the Acadians were 
scattered throughout the colonies. Many made their way 
to Louisiana, so as to be still under French rule ; others es- 
caped into the 
woods ; and a 
few spent long 
years vainly 
seeking those 
they loved. 
If you care to 
learn how one girl 
wandered thousands 
of miles in quest of 
her lover, you should 
read Long'fel-low's beautiful 
Expulsion of the Acadians. poem ** E-van'ge-line." 




2IO 



LVI. WOLFE AT QUEBEC. 

UNTIL 1756, the war between the French and the 
British raged only in America; but after that it 
broke out in Europe also, where it was known as the 
** Seven Years' War." 

The French sent over Mont-calm', one of their best 
generals, who, helped by the Indians, soon took and 
burned Oswego. Next, he captured Fort William Henry, 
which the Americans had just built; but he promised that 
the garrison should leave under safe escort (1757). His 
Indian allies, however, loath to see the foe depart unharmed, 
suddenly attacked them, and killed many. Montcalm 
bravely and vainly tried to stop this, crying: ''Kill me, 
but spare the English who are under my protection," 

This year of 1757 was, on the whole, a disastrous one 
for the British ; but during the next, the tables were turned. 
The principal statesman in England was then William 
Pitt, a good friend to the American colonies. Knowing 
that, unless prompt measures were taken, the British would 
lose the main part of their possessions in America, Pitt 
sent over men with great stores of arms and money. 

The British and American troops, properly equipped, 
now started out again to carry out Braddock's plan. This 
time, Forbes was in command, ably assisted by Washing- 
ton, and they forced the French to abandon Fort Duquesne. 
Near its ruins the British built a stockade which was 
named Pittsburg, in honor of William Pitt. 

Upon returning to Virginia after this triumph, Wash- 
ington, who had lately married a widow with two children, 



211 



quietly took his seat in the House of Burgesses. To his 
dismay, the Speaker praised him for all he had done for his 
country. Embarrassed by this speech, Washington arose 
and vainly tried to make the proper response, until the 
Speaker, seeing his predicament, kindly said : " Sit down, 
Mr. Washington ; your modesty equals your valor, and that 
surpasses the power of any language I possess." 

A few months before the seizure of Fort Duquesne, the 
British captured the fortress of Louisburg for the second 
time, and Fort Frontenac was destroyed. Thus, step by 
step, the French were driven into Canada, where James 
Wolfe, a brave young British officer, was ordered to take 
Quebec. Novv, Quebec is built upon a high rock, and it 
was impossible to reach its citadel from three sides. But 
Wolfe, thinking that it could be attacked from the Plains 
of A'bra-ham, went up the river past the city, and then, 
one night, drifted noiselessly downstream toward the place 
where he wished to land. 

Wolfe was a charming young man, loving art and poetry, 
and as he went down the St. Lawrence, he mentioned a 
poem of Gray's, saying: " I would rather be the author of 
the * Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard ' than have 
the glory of beating the French to-morrow." Then he 
repeated the following lines with deep feeling : 

*^ The boast of heraldry, die pomp of power, 

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave. 
Await alike the inevitable hour ; 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

As the brave young man seemed to foresee, the path 
of glory was to lead him also to the grave. A few 



212 



minutes later, his boats came within range of the French 
sentinels, and their challenge was answered in such good 
French that they let the boats pass. After landing, Wolfe 
climbed up the steep path, and had his army all drawn up 
for battle on the Plains of Abraham the next morning. 




Battle of Quebec. 

Montcalm, taken thus un- ^^ awares, led out 
his troops and fought bravely ; but he was de- 

feated by Wolfe, who, as well as Montcalm, was mortally 
wounded in the fray. The French commander breathed 
his last a few hours later, saying : " Thank God, I shall not 
live to see Quebec surrender!" 

His equally brave young enemy, dying on the battle- 
field, heard his men cry : " They run ! they run ! " Breath- 
lessly he inquired, "Who run?" but when he heard that 
it was the French, he fell back, saying : " Now God be 
praised! I can die in peace." 



213 



This memorable battle, fought in 1759, is commemo- 
rated by a monument on the Plains of Abraham, on 
which the names of both generals are carved. There is 
also a famous monument in West'min-ster Abbey, in 
honor of Wolfe, the conqueror 
of Quebec. 

The fall of Quebec decided 
the fate of the French in Amer- 
ica. They had already lost the 
Ohio valley, Forts Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point, and soon after, 
Montreal surrendered too. 

Although the last French and 
IndianWarwas now over in Amer- 
ica, the war between France and 
England continued until 1763, 
when it was ended by the treaty 
of Par'is. Because more land 
changed hands on this occasion 
than ever before, the treaty of 
Paris is known in history as the 
biggest land deal ever made. To Great Britain France 
gave up Canada and her claims to all the land east of the 
Mississippi, except New Orleans. For herself she kept 
only two small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on 
which to dry fish. Spain, siding with France in this war, 
received from her ally all of Louisiana west* of the Mis- 
sissippi, and the city of New Orleans. To recover 
Havana, which had been taken by a British fleet, Spain 
gave up Florida, which had belonged to her ever since 
Ponce de Leon first visited it in 15 12. 

14 




Wolfe's Monument in West- 
minster Abbey. 



STO. OF THIR. COL. 



214 

All these changes did not please everybody, and the 
Indians so disliked the English rule that, led by Pon'ti-ac, 
one of their chiefs, they began a war which bears his 
name (1763). In the course of this struggle seven forts 
were taken, and many settlers cruelly slain. 

The garrison at De-troit', however, having been warned 
that the Indians were planning a surprise, showed so 
brave a front that Pontiac failed to get possession of that 
place. But some of his allies had better luck at Michili- 
mackinac. They assembled near there as if to play a 
game, and tossing their ball nearer and nearer the palisade, 
finally made a wild dash through the open gates. The 
garrison was butchered, and only one trader managed to 
escape. Then, after continuing this war some time longer, 
the Indians were forced to submit, and three years later, 
Pontiac, the leader of the revolt, was shot by an Indian 
who had been bribed to kill him. 



J^^C 



LVII. HOW ENGLAND TREATED HER 
COLONIES. 

THE people in England had seemed to think all along 
that the colonies in America ought to do all they 
could to enrich England. Their idea was that the mother 
country had a right to the earnings of the colonies, 
so they treated the colonists like little children, not old 
enough to think or work for themselves. 

Among other things, the English made laws about trade 
and navigation which were very good for England, but 



215 



very bad for the colonies. For instance, they said that 
the Americans should not sell their tobacco, rice, sugar, 
furs, etc., to any country except England. Any colonist 
having any of these things for sale had to put them on 
English ships, and pay freight to carry them to England. 
Then he had to pay duty before his produce could be sold. 
Some other articles could be sold to other countries, pro- 
vided they were sent over in English ships. But no ves- 
sels from foreign countries were allowed to come into any 
of the American ports, either to buy or to sell; and if a 
colonist wanted something from France, he had to get it by 
way of England, 
although it cost 
him much more. 

As if all this 
were not bad 
enough, the Eng- 
lish were so anx- 
ious to sell the 
goods they man- 
ufactured, that 
they said the 
Americans must 
buy of them, in- 
stead of making 
such articles for 
sale. Thus, a far- 
mer could hammer out rough tools for his own use from 
the iron dug up on his land, but he could not make even a 
hoe for his neighbors in any other colony. 

The women, who spun and wove their own flax and 




Spinning. 



2l6 



wool, cut and made ordinary fan^ily garments, and plaited 
straw, which they sewed together for hats, could not even 
sell a pair of mittens in the next colony. If the New 
Englanders wanted to exchange codfish for Virginia 
tobacco, they either had to send it by way of England, 
thus paying for its being carried twice across the Atlantic, 
or else they were obliged to pay heavy duties. 

In her fear that the colonies would sell to other countries 
anything she could use, England even forbade Americans 
to cut down any very large or straight trees without her 
permission. She said that all this timber should be kept 
until she needed it as masts for her vessels. 

Of course, the colonies did not like this, but they bore 
it for a long time as patiently as they could. Other 
countries did not approve of England's trade and naviga- 
tion laws, either. Both the French and the Dutch, for 
instance, wanted to trade with the colonies. As the coast 
was very long, and there were customhouse officers in 
only a few of the towns, some foreign vessels managed to 
slip into small bays unseen, and thus began smuggling 
goods in and out of the country. 

As long as France owned Canada, smuggling could not 
very well be stopped, for French or Dutch vessels caught 
along the coast said that they were on their way to or 
from Canada, and that they had been driven out of their 
course by contrary winds. But when the last French and 
Indian War was over, foreign vessels no longer had any 
excuse for coming near North America. The British, 
therefore, declared they would now seize any foreign ves- 
sel they met, and search any house where they fancied 
smuggled goods could be found. 



217 

Orders to search houses were called search warrants. 
They gave government officers the right to go over every 
part of a dwelling, and look into every closet and drawer. 
But people like to feel that their houses are their own, and 
that no one can come in unless invited. Knowing that 
those search warrants would make it easy for any officer 
who happened to dislike them to annoy them constantly, 
the Americans naturally objected to them. 

The man who first spoke publicly against these search 
warrants, in the old statehouse in Boston, was James O'tis. 
When he declared that this was not right, he was told it 
was done in Great Britain as well as in America. Otis 
then answered that, as the British had a share in making 
that law, they were, of course, obliged to obey it. But he 
added that the Americans had no seats in the British Par'- 
lia-ment, had had no share in making the law, and were 
therefore not bound to respect it. 

Many of the colonists agreed with Otis, so the British 
officers did not dare offend them by making frequent visits 
to their houses ; but they kept ships along the coast to 
chase all suspicious vessels and see whether they had any 
foreign goods on board. This proceeding was almost as 
disagreeable to the colonists as searching their houses. 

One of these boats, the Gas'pee, in pursuing a colonial 
vessel, ran ashore in Narragansett 'Bay, Rhode Island, in 
1772. Before it could be worked off the shoal, — which is 
still known as Gaspee Point, — a number of the best citizens 
of Providence came in disguise and set fire to the ship. 
But although the British said their flag had been insulted, 
and tried to find the guilty parties, they never could lay 
hands upon them. 



2l8 



LVIII. THE STAMP TAX. 

BESIDES the galling trade and navigation laws to which 
the poor American colonists had to submit, there 
were other troubles which you must try to understand. 
The French and Indian War had cost a great deal of 
money, which had to be paid. It was also needful to take 
steps to arrange for the government of the new territory, 
and especially to defend it, for the British knew that the 
French and Spaniards would like to get it back. 

Now, King William's War, Queen Anne's War, and King 
George's War had been waged because England and 
France were fighting in Europe. They had done no good 
to the colonists, who, even after furnishing men and money, 
and winning Louisburg, saw it given back to the French. 
It was different, though, with the fourth war, which was 
begun in America, while Great Britain furnished men, 
money, and arms to defend the colonies. The colonies 
had done their best to help, and the American soldiers, 
whom the British mockingly called " Yankee Doodles," 
had shown great courage. 

Franklin tried to arrange matters of taxation by his plan 
of government, which, you remember, was set aside at 
Albany (^1754). The colonies refused it because they said 
it gave too much power to the king; and the king refused 
to accept it because it gave too much power to the colonies. 

King George's advisers now told him that as Great 
Britain had run into debt fighting in America, it was only 
right that the colonies should help to pay the money. 
They added that it would be necessary to keep an army 



219 

in America to defend the new-won lands, and that the 
colonies ought to feed and pay these soldiers. 

If Great Britain had asked the colonies, ** Will you sup- 
port an army ? " they might perhaps have consented. But 
instead of letting the Americans talk the matter over and 
raise the money in any way they pleased, measures were 
taken by Parliament to raise a large sum, which the king 
was to use in providing for a standing army. 

At that time, many of the British were dissatisfied, too, 
for the members of the House of Commons no longer 
represented the whole nation. New cities like Bir'ming- 
ham, Man'ches-ter, and Leeds had no right to vote at all, 
while a few tumble-down places, which had been towns 
two hundred years before, still sent several members to 
Parliament. Pitt and some other statesmen said that a 
new census ought to be taken, and that the House of 
Commons should represent all the people of Great Britain ; 
but the king, among others, thought things ought to 
remain just as they were. 

The two parties were still quarreling over this when 
the question about America came up, and it was greatly 
because the British were not fairly represented that unjust 
laws were made. To raise the money. Parliament decreed 
that the colonies would have to keep the trade and navi- 
gation laws, and pay a tax upon sugar and molasses, and 
that no newspaper should-be printed or deed written except 
on paper stamped by government officers. This was called 
the ''Stamp Act." 

As soon as Pitt heard that the Stamp Act had been 
passed, he said it was wrong to tax the colonies without 
their consent. But Parhament would not listen to him. 



220 



In those days, vessels crossed rtie Atlantic only once a 
month. There was no telegraph, no daily newspapers, 
and the post between large cities like Philadelphia and 
New York ran only twice or thrice a week. It therefore 
took some time before the news of the passing of the 
Stamp Act became generally known in America. . 

FrankHn, who was then in England, did his best to 
hinder the making of such an unjust law. He was once 
asked whether the Americans would be angry ; and, hoping 
to make the British understand how unreasonable they 
were, he told them this story: A Frenchman once came 
running out of his house with a red-hot poker. He 
grasped an Englishman, passing by, and said : '' Let me run 
this poker through you!" Of course the Englishman 
declined. Then the Frenchman said : *' Well, let me at 
least run it a few inches into your body." But when the 
Englishman again refused, the Frenchman said, in an ag- 
grieved way : " If you won't let me do either, you should 
at least pay for the trouble of heating this poker!" 

Still, all Franklin's tact and good sense could not pre- 
vent the law being passed, and he sadly wrote home : ** The 
sun of liberty is set; the Americans must light the lamp 
of industry and economy." 

* LIX. THE ANGER OF THE COLONIES. 

MOST Americans were not ready to take things 
so quietly as Franklin. Indeed, as soon as the news 
of the Stamp Act became known, there was great excite- 
ment. Bells were tolled, and every one looked sad. In 



221 



Virginia, Patrick Henry arose in the House of Burgesses, 
and made a fiery speech which convinced the people that it 
would be wrong and cowardly to yield. In his speech he 
said that tyranny must be resisted, and added : '* Caesar 




Patrick Henry's Speech. 

had his Brutus, Charles I. his Cromwell, and George 
HI. — " "Treason! Treason!" cried some of the mem- 
bers who were friends of the king. But Patrick Henry 
went firmly on, ** may profit by their example. If this be 
treason, make the most of it!" 

His speech fairly carried the people away, and when he 
concluded it by saying: "Give me liberty, or give me 
death," the Virginians drew up a set of resolutions saying 
that they had the same rights as the people in Great 



222 



Britain, that they could be taxed Only by their assemblies, 
and that they would not allow any one else to tax them. 

In North Carolina, John Ashe said : " This law will be 
resisted in blood and death." This opinion was so general 
that Massachusetts suggested that a general ** Stamp Act 
Congress " should be held in New York, in 1765. All but 
four colonies were represented in it, and six of them drew 
up a paper saying that as British subjects they could be 
taxed only by their own consent, and that as they had no 
members in Parliament, they would not obey that body. 

This paper was called the " Declaration of Rights," and 
they added to it another, saying that there were five things 
they had to complain about. These were : being taxed 
without their consent, being tried in some cases without a 
jury, being hampered in their trading, and being asked to 
pay the sugar tax and the stamp tax. 

Men everywhere began thinking how they could keep 
their rights, and formed companies called " Sons of Lib- 
erty." These bands visited the men chosen to sell the 
stamped paper, and sternly warned them not to try to do 
so unless they wished to be treated Hke traitors. The re- 
sult was that, so far as is now known, not a single sheet of 
stamped paper was ever sold in America. Indeed, when 
the day came when they were to have been first used, a 
Pennsylvania new^spaper appeared with the heading, " No 
stamped paper to be had." 

The excitement was such that even the children marched 
up and down Hke their elders, crying, " Liberty, Property, 
and No Stamps!" or even such hard words as ''Taxation 
without representation is tyranny." 

As we have already seen, there were many people in 



223 

Great Britain who thought the Stamp Act unjust. Two 
great men, Burke and Pitt, openly said so ; and when the 
news came that the Americans refused to obey, the latter 
exclaimed: *' I rejoice that America has resisted. Three 
millions of people so dead to all the feelings of hberty as 
voluntarily to submit to be slaves, would have been fit 
instruments to make slaves of all the rest." 

The British minister, Gren'ville, now sent for Franklin, 
and asked whether he thought the Americans would pay 
the stamp tax if it were less. But Franklin said: "No; 
never! They will never submit to it;" and went on to 
explain that it was not a question of more or less money, 
but a question of right and wrong. 

As the Americans declared they would not buy a single 
thing from the British until their rights were respected, 
British vessels soon went home with unsold cargoes, and 
British merchants loudly cried that their business was 
ruined. These complaints, added to the colonists' deter- 
mined resistance, made ParHament repeal, or call back, the 
Stamp Act, six months after it was to be enforced. 

The stamps which were never used were stored away 
in a room in the House of ParHament. Here they lay 
forgotten for many a year, and when they were finally un- 
earthed again, they were either given away as curiosities 
or destroyed. 

The news of the repeal of the Stamp Act set the 
Americans almost crazy with joy. Bells were rung, bon- 
fires lighted, and speeches made. In New York the peo- 
ple were so happy that they erected a new liberty pole, 
and made a big leaden statue of King George, which they 
set up on Bowling Green. 



224 



LX. THE BOSTON TEA PARTY. 

IN their joy the colonists did not at first notice that Par- 
Hament, in repeahng the Stamp Act, still claimed the 
right to tax the colonies *' in all cases whatsoever." But 
the very next year Parliament passed what are known in 
history as the " Townshend Acts," from the man who 
proposed them. These laws, besides forcing the colonists 
to feed the king's troops and keep the trade law, placed a 
tax on glass, paint, tea, and a few other things. 

The money raised by these taxes was to be used partly 
for paying the salaries of governors, judges, customhouse 
and other colonial officers. Hitherto, the colonies had paid 
the salaries of governors and judges themselves, and they 
said that, while it might be all right to let a good king be 
paymaster, a bad king might make them very uncomfort- 
able by sending out governors like Andros and Berkeley, 
who, being paid by him, would care only to please him. 

Urged on by the Massachusetts people, all the colonies 
wrote to Great Britain that they would not buy any British 
goods until the taxes were removed. The king, oflfended 
by the letters sent him, ordered the governors to dissolve 
the colonial assemblies again and again ; but he could not 
prevent the Americans from talking and thinking as they 
pleased. When his troops began to come, men, women, 
and children scowled at them, openly calling them " lob- 
sters " and "bloody-backs" because they wore red coats. 

As the Massachusetts people talked loudest, and urged 
the other colonies to resist, King George sent General 
Gage to Boston with two regiments. They came into the 



225 



city on Sunday morning, with flags flying and drums beat- 
ing, a thing which greatly shocked the good Puritans. 

The presence of British soldiers in America greatly an- 
noyed the people. They daily grew more and more 
angry about it, and before long a small fight took place 
between soldiers and citizens, at Golden Hill, in the city 
of New York. Two months later, in the midst of the 
excitement caused by a false alarm of fire in Boston, a 




The " Boston Massacre. 



British soldier, annoyed by the taunts and snowballs of a 
mob, shot a man. This became the signal for more firing, 
which killed five men and wounded a few others (1770). 
The excitement caused in the city by the " Boston 
Massacre," or the " Bloody Massacre," as it is known in 
history, proved very great. Although the principal men 
in Boston knew the soldiers had not been greatly to blame 
for what had happened, they saw that there would be more 



226 



trouble unless the troops left the town. Samuel Ad'ams, 
therefore, explained this to the governor, who asked him 
if the people would be satisfied if he sent one regiment 
away. Adams answered that he would find out, but, 
going to the Old South Meetinghouse, where the patriots 
were assembled, he passed up the aisle, whispering to his 
friends right and left: ** Both regiments or none." 

When Adams reached the platform, and told the people 
what the governor had said, his friends loudly cried : " Both 
regiments or none!" The rest of the people shouted the 
same thing. So the governor, much against his will, was 



forced to place 
bay. But after 
troops. King 



Ji 



the soldiers on an island in the 

that, when mentioning those 

George spitefully called them 

** Sam Adams's 

regiments." 

The removal 
of the soldiers 
quieted the Bos- 
ton people a 
little; still, they 
often met in 
Faneuil (fan'el) 
Hall, where such 
stirring patri- 
otic speeches were made that the building is often called 
the *' Cradle of Liberty." 

The people had said they would not buy anything 
from Great Britain until the taxes were removed ; so, when 
tea ships came over, their cargoes were either sent back, 
stored in damp cellars, or destroyed. The British mer- 




Faneuil Hall. 



227 

chants complained about this, and the king himself, who 
was interested in the tea company, soon found he was 
losing money, too. He therefore proposed that the price 
of tea should be reduced, so that even after the tax of 
threepence a pound was paid, tea would be cheaper than 
ever before. But this made no difference to the colonists. 
The question with them was not cheap tea, but untaxed tea. 

To prevent any one from buying any of this tea, all the 
ports were carefully watched ; but finally three ships 
entered Boston harbor with strict orders to land their 
cargoes. As the governor would not send the ships back, 
and insisted that the king's orders should be carried out, 
Samuel Adams finally said, in a large assembly: "This 
meeting can do nothing more to save the country." 

This was evidently a secret signal, for a voice immedi- 
ately asked in an innocent way : " Will tea mix with sea 
water?" In reply some one shouted: ** Boston harbor 
for a teapot to-night! Hurrah for Griffin's wharf !" The 
crowd now poured out of the Old South, and on reach- 
ing the street saw a band of men, disguised as Indians, 
rushing toward the pier. These make-believe Indians 
took possession of the dock, boarded the three ships, 
broke open the tea chests with their tomahawks, and 
poured their contents into the harbor, which thus became 
a monster teapot at Boston's famous Tea Party. 

The Indians were careful, however, not to touch any- 
thing else, and when their work was done, they quickly 
vanished. Still, they were so honest that a padlock, 
broken by mistake, was secretly replaced by a new one 
on the next day. It is said that the tide the next 
morning left heaps of damp tea leaves on the beach. 



228 

Some was put in bottles and kept, in memory of Boston's 
Tea Party ; but the rest of it was either thrown back into 
the water or burned, so that no one should be tempted to 
touch it. 



.;^Jfe: 




The Boston Tea Party. 



3^«^C 



LXI. THE MINUTEMEN. 

UPON hearing the news of the Boston Tea Party 
Parliament made five harsh laws to punish the Bos- 
tonians. These were that no ships should be allowed to 
come in or go out of their port until they had paid for 



229 

the tea; that the governor could send any one he pleased 
to England for trial ; that the charter of Massachusetts 
was to be taken away; that the colonists should receive 
and feed the troops; and that the province of Quebec 
should be extended to the Ohio, thus including the west- 
ern lands claimed by Massachusetts. 

The Bostonians said they could not, and would not, 
stand these five laws, which they called the ** five intoler- 
able acts." The other colonies declared that the Bos- 
tonians were right, and promised to help them resist ; so 
it was decided that delegates from all the colonies should 
meet at Philadelphia, in 1774, to act together. 

All the colonies except Georgia sent delegates to this 
First Continental Congress. They met in Carpenter's Hall, 
in Philadelphia, and decided to print and circulate papers 
explaining to the colonies, to the Canadians, and to the 
British people their causes of complaint. They also drew 
up a declaration of rights and an address to the king. 

Samuel Adams, who is often called the " Father of the 
Revolution," wrote this petition to the king ; and his young 
daughter, seeing the paper, cried: " Only think of it; that 
paper will soon be in the king's hand!" But her father 
dryly answered : " My dear, it will more likely be spurned 
by the royal foot!" 

There were many noted men among the fifty-five 
members of the First Continental Congress. Franklin 
had come home to take part in it, after having patiently 
tried to make peace with the Englishmen, who insulted 
him. While Congress was in session, some one asked Pat- 
rick Henry who was the leading man there, and he an- 
swered : '' If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rut'ledge of 



Longitvul 




(2-30) 



231 

South Carolina is by far the greatest orator; but if you 
speak of soHd information, Colonel Washington is unques- 
tionably the greatest man on the floor!" 

Before separating, this congress decided that another 
should assemble the next year to hear King George's an- 
swer to their petition, and to discuss what steps should 
next be taken. But although Congress was dismissed, 
the colonies, in spite of the bad postal arrangements of 
the age, kept up a lively correspondence. 

Patrick Henry, on his return home, told the Virginia 
convention w^hat had been done, and concluded an elo- 
quent speech by saying : ** We must fight! I repeat it, sir, 
we must fight ! An appeal to arms and the God of hosts 
is all that is left us." And in South Carolina the patriots 
loudly echoed the sentiments of their delegate, showing 
that " three million brave Americans, scattered over three 
thousand miles, had but one soul." 

This was the opinion of patriots everywhere, and, feel- 
ing that they might soon be called upon to maintain their 
rights, they formed companies and drilled regularly. One 
of these bands of militia was formed in Virginia, where 
Washington said: "I shall very cheerfully accept the 
honor of commanding it, if occasion requires it to be 
drawn out." In New England many similar regiments 
were drilled, and as these volunteer soldiers w^ere to be 
ready to start at a moment's notice, they were known as 
*' minutemen." 

The w^omen were quite as patriotic as the men. They 
gave up tea and all other imported goods, and began to 
spin and weave with such energy that they and their fami- 
lies soon wore nothing but homespun. Even at a ball, in 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — 15 



232 



Virginia, the ladies wore rough cloth of their own manufac- 
ture, rather than purchase cloth, silk, and lace from England. 
As Boston suffered most of all, the other colonies 
showed their sympathy by sending all the suppHes they 

could by land. Indeed, 
neighboring places, such as 
Mar-ble-head' and Salem, 
even offered to let Boston 
merchants use their port 
free of charge. 

Instead of answering the 
" olive branch " petition 
sent by the colonies. King 
George told General Gage, 
governor of Massachusetts, 
to bring the people to order 
as soon as possible. But 
Gage soon saw that the 
colonists were too angry 
to yield tamely, and all he 
dared do was to stop their 
meetings and to fortify Bos- 
ton Neck. 

But meetings were held 
in spite of him, for the prin- 
cipal Bostonians went to Cambridge, where they formed a 
Committee of Safety. This was to watch the movements 
of the British, collect arms and ammunition, and see that 
the minutemen were always ready for duty. For every 
one now felt that the fight must soon break out, although 
neither party wished to begin it. 




Statue of Minuteman. 



233 



LXII. THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 

GENERAL GAGE knew that the patriots were col- 
lecting supplies, and he was determined to seize 
them if he could. But there were good patriots in Boston 
who were watching him closely, and they had agreed to 
warn their friends of any danger, by means of lanterns 
hung up in the tower of the Old North Church. 

Two lights in the tower, one night, notified the people of 
Charlestown that the British were moving, and the min- 




Paul Revere's Ride. 



utemen on guard scattered to rouse their fellow-soldiers. 
Paul Re-vere', among others, dashed off on horseback, nar- 
rowly escaping capture by the British, who were guarding 



234 

• 
all the roads. As he galloped rapidly on, he roused the 

people by crying: *' The British are coming!" Finally he 
reached Lex'ing-ton, about nine miles from Boston. Here 
Samuel Adams and John Hancock had both taken refuge, 
because Gage wanted to seize and ship them off to Eng- 
land, to be tried there for treason. 

The clatter made by Revere roused the sleeping patriots, 
and when one of them asked what all this noise meant. 
Revere quickly answered: ** Noise! You '11 have noise 
enough before long. The regulars are coming!" Just 
then the window opened, and Hancock called Revere in. 
Soon after Revere rode rapidly on 'again to warn Concord, 
Massachusetts, while Adams began cleaning his gun to 
join in the fight. But Hancock stopped his companion, 
saying that it was their duty, as members of the Council, 
to plan and think, instead of fighting. 

The alarm enabled the patriots to conceal most of their 
arms and stores, and when the British soldiers arrived 
in Lexington, soon after sunrise on April 19, 1775, they 
found about seventy minutemen drawn up on the green. 
The leader of the minutemen bade them *' Stand firm ! 
Don't fire until you are fired at. But if they want war, 
let it begin right here." ^ 

The British officer, at the head of about three hundred 
men, now loudly cried : '' Disperse, ye rebels ! Disperse ! " 
Then, as they did not obey, he drew his pistols. Who 
fired first is a question which has never been settled, but 
a few minutes later seven American patriots lay on the 
ground dead, and the rest were obliged to retreat. 

The British now marched on to Concord, where they 
began to destroy the stores. Although they had fancied 



235 



the patriots would offer no more resistance, they soon found 
they were mistaken. The minutemen were assembHng 
as fast as they could, and Dr. Warren addressed those at 
Lexington, saying : " Keep up a brave heart. They have 
begun it — that either party can do ; and we'll end it — that 
only we can do." 

The British guard at the Concord bridge was now at- 




The Retreat from Concord. 



tacked. Hearing shots in that direction, the British hurried 
back, to find their men faUing rapidly beneath the fire of 
the minutemen. The latter were posted behind every 
bush, tree, barn, and stone wall all along the road, so that 
the British had to retreat between two lines of fire. 



236 

Bewildered by the constant shot's of enemies they could 
not see, the British soldiers soon broke ranks and rushed 
blindly on, never pausing to take breath until they met 
new forces at Lexington, which covered their retreat. 
There the fugitives fell to the ground exhausted and pant- 
ing, their tongues hanging out of their mouths from heat 
and thirst. After they recovered a little, the British, who 
had marched out of Charlestown that morning playing 
" Yankee Doodle " to vex the patriots, were only too 
thankful to beat a retreat. When they reached their for- 
tifications at sundown they had lost about three hundred 
men, while only eighty-eight of the patriots had fallen. 

The Revolutionary War had begun, and the day after 
the battle of Lexington the Massachusetts Congress wrote 
to England: "We determine to die or be free." The 
news of the first bloodshed was rapidly carried from place 
to place by men on horseback. They went everywhere, 
calling the people to arms. Guns were polished and 
bullets cast, the women sacrificing even cherished pewter 
spoons and dishes to supply the necessary ammunition. 

The call to arms found Israel Putnam — a hero of the 
last French and Indian War — plowing in his field. Unyok- 
ing his oxen from the plow, Putnam bade a lad run for 
his coat and gun, while he saddled his horse. He then 
rode quickly away to take part in the struggle, which was 
to last about seven years. Two other patriots, John Stark 
from New Hampshire, and Benedict Arnold from Connect- 
icut, were equally prompt in responding to this appeal, 
and it is said that in less than three days, sixteen thou- 
sand Americans were assembled around Boston, com- 
pletely hemming in General Gage and the British troops. 



237 



LXIII. BUNKER HILL. 

THE news of the battles at Lexington and Concord, 
where, as Em^er-son says, was " fired the shot heard 
round the world," traveled with remarkable speed to Ver- 
mont^ There the Green Mountain Boys quickly sprang 
to arms, and, under Ethan Allen, their leader, marched on 
to Fort Ticonderoga. This place was in the hands of the 
British, and contained large stores of arms and ammuni- 
tion, which the Americans coveted. 

But before the Green Mountain Boys reached Ticon- 
deroga, Arnold joined them to assume command of their 
force. As Ethan Allen refused to give it up, the two 
patriots headed the force together. They came upon the 
fort so unexpectedly that, at the cry of ** Surrender!" the 
British commander sprang out of bed and rushed to the 
door, defiantly asking, ** By what authority?" "In the 
name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Con- 
gress!" thundered Ethan Allen. The British officer was 
forced to yield, although he knew the Green Mountain 
Boys could have no such orders, for the Second Continen- 
tal Congress was to assemble only the next day. The 
taking of Ticonderoga, and of Crown Point on the mor- 
row, proved a great help to the Revolutionary cause, for 
the patriots thus secured cannon and powder which they 
were to need before long. 

Traveling rapidly from place to place, the news of the 
battle of Lexington soon spread all through the colonies. 
The congressional delegates, therefore, left their homes to 
meet in Philadelphia, knowing there was a great piece of 



238 

work before them. One of them, George Washington, 
felt it so keenly that before starting he wrote to his 
brother: "It is my full intention to devote my life and 
fortune to the cause we are engaged in, if needful." 

It was well that he was so ready to serve his country, 
for it was sorely in need of help. Congress no sooner 
assembled, with Hancock for president, than it began to 
govern the country, and called for an army of fifteen 
thousand men. Adams then arose, saying he would like 
to propose as general a gentleman from Virginia, whose 
" skill and experience as an officer, independent fortune, 
great talents, and universal character will command the 
approval of all America." 

George Washington, who had expected nothing of the 
sort, and who was as modest as he was good, fled from 
the room when he heard this. But every one voted for 
him, and when he was called back he reluctantly accepted 
the charge given him, saying: " I beg it may be remem- 
bered by every gentleman in this room that I this day 
declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself 
equal to the command I am honored with." But he then 
went on to say that he would do his best, and refused all 
pay for his services, asking only that Congress should pay 
his expenses, of which he would keep an exact account. 

Washington wrote to his wife, at Mount Vernon : *' I 
should enjoy more real happiness in one month with 
you at home than I have the most distant prospect of find- 
ing abroad, if my stay were seven times seven years." 
But as he always did his duty promptly and cheerfully, 
he immediately set out on horseback for Boston, where the 
continental troops were rapidly assembling. 



239 

The British, in the meantime, had withdrawn once more 
into Boston, which they duly fortified by earthworks 
across the Neck. Here they were soon joined by new 
troops ; for Generals Howe, Bur-goyne^ and CHnton had 
been sent from England to put down the rebellion. On 
first hearing that the British soldiers were kept in Boston 
by ill-equipped and badly trained Americans, one of these 
officers cried : " What ! can ten thousand Yankee Doodles 
shut up five thousand soldiers of the king? Only let us 
get in there, and we '11 soon find elbow room!" But, as 
you will see, they did not find this an easy task. 

The Americans, learning that the British were planning 
to fortify Bunker Hill and Breeds Hill, back of Charles- 
town, determined to prevent their doing so, if possible, by 
occupying those places first. Twelve hundred men were 
therefore put under command of Colonel Pres'cott, and, 
after a solemn prayer, they noiselessly crept up Breeds 
Hill in the darkness, and began to throw up earthworks. 

As the patriots toiled silently on, they heard from time 
to time the British sentinels cry out, ** All 's well!" But 
when the sun rose, the British found that all was not well, 
for the Americans were intrenched on Breeds Hill. Still, 
thinking it would be an easy matter to dislodge the pa- 
triots, they joyfully prepared for the battle. The Amer- 
icans did not quail when British bullets began to rain 
around them, for their leader, seeing their dismay when the 
first man fell, encouraged them by walking along the top of 
his breastwork as coolly as if there were no danger at all. 

General Gage, perceiving him through his telescope, 
asked a Bostonian who he was, and whether he would fight. 
The Bostonian proudly answered that the man's name was 



240 



William Prescott, and added: *' Fight? Yes, yes! you 
may depend upon him to do that to the very last drop of 
blood in his veins." In the meantime, Prescott charged 











Battle of Bunker Hill. 

his men, who had few 
rounds of ammunition, not 
to fire until he bade them, 
or until they could see the 
whites of the enemies' eyes. 
This order was so manfully obeyed that when the red- 
coats cHmbed the hill they fell in swaths before the 
patriots' rifles. Twice the British fell back dismayed 
before this deadly fire, and twice their officers bravely 
rallied them and led them back. But Prescott kept up the 
courage of his men until, seeing that they had no more 
bullets, he bade them retreat, using their guns as clubs, 
since they had no bayonets. The gallant Warren, who 
had gone into this fight saying, " Sweet and fitting it is to 



241 



die for one's country," fell on the very spot where Bunker 
Hill Monument now stands ; and Prescott bravely covered 
the retreat of his men, being the last to leave the works. 

In this battle, which is 
called the " battle of 
Bunker Hill," the British 
drove the patriots away, 
but at the cost of so 
many lives that when the 
news reached Europe a 
French statesman said : 
" Two more such vic- 
tories, and England will 
have no army left in 
America." Not only did 
many British soldiers 
perish, but as the Amer- 
icans discovered that 
the only cause of their 
defeat on this occasion 
was lack of ammunition, 
they looked forward to the next battle without fear. 

All felt, as Ward said, that '' We shall finally come off 
victorious, and triumph over the enemies of freedom and 
America." This belief, however, was not shared in Eng- 
land, although Franklin proved that it had cost the mother 
country three million pounds and many men to kill about 
three hundred and fifty Yankees. He added that in the 
meantime so many children had been born in our country 
that, at that rate, it would be impossible to find men and 
money enough to conquer the whole territory. 




Bunker hill Monument. 



242 



LXIV. THE BOSTON BOYS. 



THE news of the battle of Bunker Hill, and of Howe's 
setting fire to Charlestown during the struggle, was 
sent without delay to Congress. The messenger who 
bore it met Washington on his way to Cambridge to take 
command of the army. The general in chief eagerly 
asked how the Americans had behaved, and when he 
heard that they had stood their gi^und bravely, he fer* 
vently cried: "The liberties of the country are safe!" 

The messenger then continued on his way, and when 
the news reached Congress there was great excitement. 
The patriots felt that the fight could now end only when 
their rights were assured ; and Franklin wrote to some 

friends in England : 
" England has lost her 
colonies forever." 

Riding on, Washing- 
ton quickly reached 
Cambridge, where he 
made his headquarters 
in the house later oc- 
cupied by the famous 
American poet Longfel- 
low. In the beginning 
of July, 1775, standing 
under the Cambridge 
Elm, Washington took command of the continental army, 
composed of about fifteen thousand men of every age and 
size. They were armed with hunting rifles, knives, swords. 




The Cambridge Elm. 



243 

or pitchforks; most of them had no idea of military drill 
or discipline, and all were in need of arms, ammunition, 
uniforms, and food. 

It was impossible to fight without three of these things ; 
so while the patriots brought food for the soldiers, Wash- 
ington bestirred himself to secure arms and ammunition, 
begging Congress to supply hunting shirts, so that his 
army might present a more orderly appearance. To pre- 
vent the enemy from discovering, through spies, that he had 
less than half a pound of powder for each man, Washing- 
ton had a number of barrels filled with sand. A little 
powder was put on top of each, and they were stored 
away and guarded as carefully as if there were the great- 
est danger of their exploding at any minute. 

While waiting for the artillery which Ethan Allen had 
secured at Ticonderoga to be brought across country on 
ox sleds, Washington and his aids drilled their ungainly 
troops. But the patriots were independent and hard to 
manage. It is said that when a corporal once bade a pri- 
vate get a pail of water, the latter coolly answered: "I 
won't. Get it yourself. I got the last pail; it is your 
turn now." 

The officers, on the other hand, seemed afraid to lower 
themselves by doing any work. Washington, hearing a 
corporal urge his men to remove a log which was too 
heavy for them, suggested to the corporal that in such 
cases it was well to lend a hand. But the man proudly 
answered: *' Do you realize that I am a corporal?" 
Feeling that example would be better than preaching, 
Washington dismounted, lent a vigorous hand to the 
men, and, when the log was in place, showed them his 



244 




Washington and the Corporal 



uniform and rode off, bidding the men call for him when- 
ever they needed help. 

We are told that on another occasion he found some Mar- 
blehead fishermen and Virginia riflemen quarreling. Unable 
to bring them to order in any other way, Washington, 
who was more than six feet tall and very strong, strode 
into their midst, and, seizing the noisiest by their collars, 
shook them until he brought them back to their senses. 

For eight months Washington waited and drilled, keep- 
ing the British shut up in Boston. Here the officers tried 
to kill time by writing and acting plays, and it is said that 
the most clever of all these productions was a work by 
An'dre making fun of Washington. The British soldiers, 
having nothing to do, annoyed the citizens, and so often 
spoiled the children's play on the Common, that a number 



245 

of big boys finally went to General Gage to complain 
about it. 

The British general angrily asked : '' What ! Have your 
fathers sent you here to exhibit the rebellion they have been 
teaching you ? " But the boys bravely answered : *' Nobody 
sent us. We have never injured your troops, but they have 
trampled down our snow hills and broken the ice of our 
skating pond. We complained, and they called us young 
rebels, and told us to help ourselves if we could. We told 
the captain, and he laughed at us. Yesterday our works 
were destroyed for the third time, and we will bear it no 
longer." 

The boys' spirited reply could not but appeal to 
General Gage, who said to some people standing near 
him : " The very children draw in a love of liberty with 
the air they breathe." Then, turning to the boys, he 
added : " Go, my brave boys, and be assured that if my 
troops trouble you again they shall be punished." 



:>\^c 



LXV. THE BRITISH LEAVE BOSTON. 

WHILE Washington was holding the British prisoners 
in Boston, Congress made one more vain attempt to 
be on good terms with the king. But the only answer he 
made to their petition was to call for more soldiers. 
Finding that the English, who in many cases thought the 
Americans were right, would not fight for him, he hired 
seventeen thousand Hessian and other German soldiers 
to put down the rebellion. 



246 

The news that the king was liiring Germans and brib- 
ing the Indians on the frontier to make trouble, made the 
Americans very angry. On the same day, they heard 
that the British had burned down Fal'mouth (Portland), 
in Maine, so they determined to take active measures. 

Knowing that the Ca-na'di-ans under Carle'ton would 
soon march southward, they sent two armies to the north. 
One, under Mont-gom'er-y, passed up Lake Champlain 
and soon took Montreal. The other army, although it 
was winter, heroically forced its way through the Maine 
woods to Quebec, led by Benedict Arnold. 

There Montgomery joined Arnold; but their combined 
forces proved too weak to take the city. Montgomery 
fell in the very beginning of the fight, and Arnold, who 
had behaved like a hero, was badly wounded. Before he 
could recover and make a new attempt to seize Quebec, — 
where much ammunition was stored, — new British troops 
came and drove the American forces out of Canada. 

Washington, as we have seen, was seemingly idle, only 
because his troops needed drilling and he had no powder. 
As he did not wish the enemy to know this, he kept the 
secret until many people began to murmur because he 
spent the winter in Cambridge with Mrs. Washington, 
without striking a blow. He had, however, been far from 
idle, for, besides drilling his army, he had made many 
arrangements, and provided that the American prisoners 
should be kindly treated or exchanged. To do this, he 
wrote to General Gates, who had fought by his side at 
Monongahela twenty years before, promising that the 
British prisoners should receive just the same care as was 
given to the Americans. 



247 

As soon as the cannons came from Ticonderoga, Wash- 
ington resolved to attack Boston, in spite of the objections 
of his officers. The principal house owners there had 
long urged him to do so, notwithstanding the fact that 
their property would sufifer greatly. One night, therefore, 
he bade his men secretly climb and fortify Dor^ches-ter 
Heights. When the British awoke the next morning, they 
saw that the American guns covered them. Rather than 
stand such a deadly fire. General Howe decided to leave 
the town. His troops, and about nine hundred of his 
friends, went on board the British vessels in the harbor, 
and sailed off to HaFi-fax. 

On St. Patrick's day, 1776, Washington triumphantly 
entered Boston, where his troops were received with every 
demonstration of great joy. Indeed, the Bostonians were 
so happy that they gave Washington a gold medal, on one 
side of which he is represented on horseback, pointing to 
the vanishing British fleet. 

But Washington did not linger there long. Suspecting 
that Howe's next attempt would be to seize New York, 
and fearing lest he might have gone there straight from 
Boston, Washington soon hurried away. Just before he 
left the city, a British ship, laden with powder, sailed into 
the harbor, as its captain thought the British were still 
there. Its cargo was quickly seized, and provided the 
American army with seven times more powder than they 
had been able to secure by any other means. 

About three months later a second British fleet, under 
Clinton, suddenly appeared off Charleston, where it began 
bombarding Fort Moultrie (moo'tri). The governor of 
Charleston having sent word to the general, *' Keep cool 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — 16 



248 

and do mischief," the fire was promptly returned. Besides, 
the British were greatly dismayed to see their cannon 
balls burying themselves harmlessly in the soft palmetto 
logs and the big sand heaps of which the fort was com- 
posed. But the balls from the fort crippled the British 
vessels so badly that they had to sail away again without 
taking possession of Charleston. 

In the midst of this battle, a British cannon ball cut Fort 
Moultrie's flagstaff in two, and brought down the flag. 
The enemy cheered loudly at this lucky shot ; but a ser- 
geant named Jasper quickly jumped over the parapet, 
caught up the fallen flag, and set it up again, notwith- 
standing the hail of bullets falling around him. The flag 
he so bravely rescued is now carefully preserved at 
Yonkers. In reward for this daring action, Jasper was 
offered the rank of lieutenant; but as he could neither 
read nor write, he sadly refused it, saying: " I am not fit 
for the company of officers." 



3>^C 



LXVI. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

IN June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee brought into Con- 
gress a resolution ** that these United Colonies are, and 
of right ought to be, free and independent States." This 
was now the opinion of the principal men in our country, 
and Washington wrote : " When I took command of the 
army, I abhorred the idea of independence ; now I am 
convinced nothing else will save us." 

The minds of the people having been prepared for the 




m 



(249) 




250 

change by a little pamphlet called " Common Sense," 
Congress appointed five men to draw up a Declaration of 

Independence. These 
five men were Thomas 
Jef'fer-son, Benjamin 
Franklin, John Adams, 

,,,,.. ^ , Roger Sherman, and 

Jeirerson s Writing Desk. 

Robert Liv'ing-ston ; 
but as the paper, with the exception of a few words, is 
the work of Jefferson, he is generally called the *' Father 
of the Declaration of Independence." 

On July 4, 1776, this paper was adopted by Congress, 
after hours of discussion. In the meantime, crowds of 
people were anxiously waiting in the street in front of the 
old statehouse in Philadelphia to hear the decision of 
the Congress. A story says that the old bell ringer was 
at his post, ready to proclaim the glad news as soon as 
he received the signal from a grandson stationed below. 
But time seemed so long to the old man that he muttered 
again and again: "They'll never do it." All at once, 
however, a little lad darted out of the statehouse, clapping 
his hands and shouting: "Ring, grandpa! Ring!" 

Then the Independence Bell, which, strange to relate, 
bore the inscription, " Proclaim liberty throughout all the 
land unto all the inhabitants thereof," pealed out loud 
and clear, announcing the birth of the United States of 
America! All the other bells took up the joyful strain, 
and the news, flying from place to place, was welcomed 
everywhere. 

John Hancock, president of Congress, was the first to 
sign the Declaration of Independence, writing his name 



251 



in large, plain letters, and saying: "There; John Bull can 
read my name without spectacles. Now let him double 
the price on my head, for this is my defiance." Then he 
turned to the other members, and solemnly added : *' We 
must be unanimous [of one mind] ; there must be no pull- 
ing different ways; we must all hang together." 

"Yes," said Franklin, quaintly: " we must all hang to- 
gether, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." 

We are told that Charles Carroll, thinking his writing 
looked shaky, added the words " of CarroUton," so that 
the king should not be able to make any mistake as to 
whose name stood there. 

Copies of the Declaration of Independence were 
promptly sent to every colony, where it was solemnly 
read. In Pennsylvania this reading took place in the 




Pennsylvania Statehouse. 



252 

yard in front of the statehouse, which has ever since 
then been known as Independence Hall. It was there that 
the Liberty Bell hung, and pealed out the happy news. 
When the tidings reached New York, they were joyfully 
received by the army, and the Sons of Liberty pulled 
down King George's leaden statue. They later sent it to 
Connecticut, where patriot women broke it up and melted 
it to make bullets for the army. 

At the same time, fault began to be found with the 
name of King's College, which had been estabHshed in 
New York over twenty years. But nothing was done till 
after the war, when the name was changed to Columbia 
College. 

In the summer of 1776 Howe came into New York Bay 
with twenty-five thousand men, and soon after landed on 
Stat'en Island. In coming to New York,, Howe was car- 
rying out part of a great plan which had been made to 
separate the southern from the New England colonies. 
To do this, he was to march up the Hudson, while Carleton 
came south from Canada by way of Lake Champlain. 

This plan was, as you see, very cleverly laid ; but it was 
not so easy to carry out as the British expected. Although 
Carleton marched south and won a victory over Arnold at 
Valcour (val-coor') Island, in Lake Champlain, it was at 
such a cost that he soon retreated in haste, instead of 
pressing on. 

Soon after General Howe reached New York Bay, his 
brother. Lord Howe, made a proclamation offering pardon 
to all who would lay down their arms and promise to obey 
the king. Next, he sent an officer to the American camp, 
with this proclamation in a letter addressed to '' George 



253 

Washington, Esq." Washington, knowing that he must 
uphold the dignity of his country, rightly refused to receive 
any letter addressed to him as a private citizen. He said 
that George Washington, the Virginia planter, would not 
be at home to receive letters until the war was over, and 
that the general in chief of the American army could not 
receive any letters unless they bore the proper address. 

Lord Howe now sent a second missive, addressed to 
''George Washington, Esq., etc., etc.;" but Washington 
also refused that. Seeing that the American general 
would not yield, Lord Howe ever after sent his letters 
properly directed, although he hated to do so, because it 
seemed to acknowledge the new government. 

We are told that it was sometime during Washington's 
sojourn in New York that the British bribed a man to 
throw poison into the general's dish of pease. But, thanks 
to the warning of a faithful servant, Washington, although 
very fond of them, did not eat any, and thus escaped 
death. 

LXVH. A LADY'S WAY OF HELPING. 

WHILE Washington was in New York, Putnam had 
charge of the troops on Long Island. Here Gen- 
eral Howe suddenly came upon him with such a large force 
that Putnam was beaten and forced to retreat. Washing- 
ton, who saw the battle of Long Island from a distance, is 
reported to have wrung his hands, and to have cried, with 
tears running down his cheeks : " My God ! what brave 
fellows I must lose this day!" 



254 

At nightfall, the Americans were intrenched on Brook- 
lyn Heights, where Howe planned to take the " nest of 
rebels " by siege. But, thanks to a fog which rose over 
the bay, Washington cleverly and noiselessly drew off 
these troops, and when the sun rose on the second day, 
Howe found that the Americans were all on the other side of 
the East River. Knowing that Howe would pursue him, 
and not wishing to expose New York city to the enemy's 
cannon, Washington began to retreat up the Hudson. 

While part of the British army landed near the Battery, 
the rest, under Howe himself, crossed the East River higher 
up, so as to cut off the retreat of the Americans under 
Putnam. To prevent this, Washington stationed troops 
at the landing at Kips Bay (where East Thirty-fourth 
Street now ends), bidding them hold the British at bay 
long enough to enable Putnam to retreat. But the 
Americans fled at the first fire, although Washington 
tried to stop them. In his rage and despair over their 
cowardice, Washington is said to have flung his hat on the 
ground, and bitterly cried : " Are these the men with whom 
I am to defend America? " 

Still, one man could not hold an army in check ; so 
Washington rode northward, sending word to Putnam to 
hurry, and begging Mrs. Murray, a lady hving on a hill 
near by, to use her woman's wit to detain the enemy. 
Mrs. Murray bade her servants prepare refreshments, and 
when General Howe rode past her gate, she stepped out 
to invite him into her house. 

It was a very warm day, the house looked cool and 
inviting, and Howe accepted, thinking a few moments' 
delay would not do any harm. But the ladies proved so 



255 



entertaining, and the food they set before the officers so 
welcome, that instead of staying only a few moments, they 
lingered there several hours. Finally a servant came in 
and whispered something to Mrs. Murray, who, rising 
from her seat, begged Howe to accompany her to see 
something which she thought might interest him. 

We are told that she then led the British general to an 
upper window, and pointed out Putnam's army vanishing 
in the dim distance. The delay had enabled the Americans 
to escape to a point higher up, where they still held Forts 
Lee and Washington, on either side of the river. 

While the battle of Long Island was raging, Wash- 
ington, needing information, sent Nathan Hale, a Yale 
graduate, into the British ranks. This 
brave youth was betrayed by a former 
friend, and the British, having taken 
him captive, condemned him to be 
hanged as a spy. This was no more 
than the young man expected ; but 
they cruelly refused him a Bible or 
a minister to prepare for death. 

We are told that even his last let- 
ters to his mother and betrothed were 
torn to pieces before his eyes, as they 
dragged him off to the gallows. But 
as the young patriot stood there, sur- 
rounded by foes, he firmly said : " I 
regret only that I have but one life 
to lose for my country." These noble words are carved 
on the pedestal of his statue, which now stands in one of 
the principal squares of New York city. 




256 

Howe and Clinton were now 15oth in New York, where 
they were warmly welcomed by a few persons who were 
still faithful to King George. But as they had failed to 
secure the American army, they soon set out to pursue 
Washington, who slowly retreated before them. 

Washington did not try to do more than check their 
advance, because he knew their ships could sail up the 
Hudson, across which he had vainly tried to make a 
barrier by sinking some old ships. Step by step, there- 
fore, Washington withdrew until he came to White Plains. 
There a battle was fought ; but, while the Americans were 
defeated, the British retreated on the next day, rather than 
renew the fight and lose more men. 

Washington had left General Nathanael Greene in 
charge of Fort Washington, telling him to forsake it rather 
than run any risk of losing his troops. But Greene 
thought it would be safe to remain there awhile longer. 
Unfortunately, however, a traitor gave General Howe the 
plans of the place, thus enabling him to surprise and cap- 
ture Fort Washington, together with three thousand men. 

These soldiers, like many other American prisoners, 
were sent on board a rotting ship in New York harbor, 
where, in the course of the Revolutionary War, more than 
eleven thousand men died from bad food, bad water, and 
bad air. These victims of British cruelty were first buried 
in the mud at low tide, but their remains now rest in 
Washington Park, Brooklyn. A memorial monument has 
also been erected in their honor in Trinity Church, bear- 
ing the inscription : " To those great and good men who 
died while imprisoned in this city, for their devotion to 
the cause of American Independence." This honor was 



257 

well deserved, for soldiers who die of disease or in cap- 
tivity are just as likely to be heroes as those who fall on 
the battlefield. 

Washington, seeing his fort taken, now went to Hack'- 
en-sack, sending orders to General Charles Lee to cross 
the Hudson and join him in New Jersey. But instead of 
obeying promptly, Lee delayed so long that, as you will 
soon see, he hampered Washington greatly. The British, 
in the meantime, crossed the river, and Greene was obliged 
to leave Fort Lee in hot haste. Indeed, the enemy were 
so near that they found the soup pots still boiling on 
the fire, and merrily ate the dinner which was to have 
been served for the Americans. 

Still faithful to his plan to worry and check the British, 
without meeting them in open battle, Washington now 
slowly retreated across New Jersey. We are told that he 
often left a place as the enemy came in ; and because he 
thus imitated the tactics of a Roman general, you will 
often hear him called the " American Fa'bi-us." 

Corn-wariis, the British general now in charge, pursued 
the Americans as fast as he could, in order to force them 
to meet him in pitched battles. But while the armies 
were often close enough to hear the music of each other's 
bands, and there were many small skirmishes, no real 
battle took place. 

In one of these small engagements the wads used in 
loading the guns gave out. The chaplain of the regiment, 
who hated the British because they had cruelly shot his 
wife and baby, rushed into a church, tore up some hymn 
books, and, carrying the leaves to the soldiers for wads, 
said: *' Give 'em Watts, boys! Give 'em Watts! " 



258 



LXVIII. CHRISTMAS EVE. 

WHILE retreating before Cornwallis, Washington 
kept sending stern orders to Lee to hasten and join 
him, so that their combined forces could be used against the 
British. But Lee did not obey, and came on very slowly. 
Indeed, he said freely that he did not consider Washington 
a good general, and often boasted that if he were only at 
the head of the army the war would soon be over. 

Lee was in a little inn in New Jersey, writing a letter 
to General Gates expressing his opinion of Washington, 
when he was suddenly surrounded by the British and 
made a prisoner. Without giving him time to change his 
dressing-gown and slippers, or get into his uniform, the 
British bore him off in triumph, thinking they had taken 
the most clevet". of all the American generals. But Lee 
was really no loss, and his army, having fortunately gone 
on ahead, joined Washington sooner without a general 
than it would have done had Lee been there. 

Many of the Americans now fancied, Hke the British, 
that since Lee was a prisoner their mainstay was gone. 
Besides, the British began to threaten to ttttreat' Lee, 
and as the Americans held no British generals as 
prisoners, they could not offer an exchange. Knowing 
this, a Rhode Island officer named Barton made a bold 
plan. 

He had heard that the British General Prescott was 
quartered on the seashore not very far from Newport. 
Taking a party of forty brave seamen and soldiers, he rowed 
with mufffed oars right through the British fleet, one dark 



259 

night. Then a sentinel was noiselessly killed, and the 
small force surrounded the house where Prescott lay 
asleep. A moment later the Americans burst into his 
bedroom, bore him off half clothed to their boats, and, 
rowing away in safety, sent word to the British that Pres- 
cott should receive just the same treatment that they gave 
Lee. Nine months later an exchange was made, and Lee 
and Prescott went back to their posts (1778). 

In the meantime Washington still avoided a battle, and 
retreated to the Delaware. There, having cleverly se- 
cured every boat within a hundred miles, he took his 
army over the river. When the British came up, not a 
single boat was to be had ; so they camped near the stream, 
thinking it would soon freeze hard enough to allow them 
to cross on the ice and seize Philadelphia. 

This was a time of great trial for the Americans, and 
Washington was the only man who did not despair. Still, 
the British had set a price upon his head, and were loudly 
boasting that they would soon hang him. Speaking of 
this, Washington once told his friend Joseph Reed : '* My 
neck does not feel as though it were made for a halter." 
Then he added that if things came to the worst they 
would have to retreat into Virginia, or even over the 
Alleghanies, but that they must never give up the struggle 
they had begun. 

Congress, fearing the British would carry out their plan 
and seize Philadelphia, now hastily withdrew to Baltimore. 
But before leaving, Samuel Adams wrote : " Let America 
exert her own strength, and He who cannot be indifferent 
to her righteous cause will even work miracles, if necessary, 
to establish her feet upon a rock." 



26o 



Washington, as we have seen, was very prudent; but 
he was not lacking in courage. Seeing that the British 
forces were scattered, he now thought it a fine chance to 
win a victory, which would rekindle the ardor of his men 
and give new courage to all the nation. 

He therefore planned to surprise the Hessians at Tren- 
ton by crossing the river, in spite of huge cakes of 




Emanuel Lim 



Washington crossing the Delaware. 



floating ice which nearly blocked it. Marblehead fisher- 
men were put in charge of the boats, and such was their 
skill and daring that they took twenty-four hundred men 
safely over. This crossing of the Delaware on Christmas 
Eve (1776) was one of the most daring feats ever per- 
formed. Besides, the men were only half clad, and so 
badly shod that they left bloody footprints in the snow ; 
and the cold was so intense that night, that two of their 
number were actually frozen to death. 



26l 



In spite of drifting snow and driving wind, Washing- 
ton's force marched bravely on, and surprised the Hessians 
at Trenton. The wounded commander, Rahl, was forced 
to surrender, and his whole army was seized. We are 
told that the Hessian soldiers had been so busy keeping 
Christmas that they were all half drunk, and that Rahl 
himself was too absorbed in a game of cards to read a 
note sent to warn him of his peril. Thinking it a matter 
of no importance, he thrust it into his pocket unread, and 
thus he and his men fell into Washington's hands. 

The news of the victory of Trenton filled the hearts of 
the Americans with great joy, but it proved a bitter disap- 
pointment to Cornwallis. Fancying the war all over, he 
had packed his trunks and gone on board a vessel to re- 
turn to England. But now General Howe sent him back 
in haste to Trenton to fight Washington. Hedged in 
between a river full of floating ice and a large army, it 
now seemed as if Washington could not escape. 

One evening, therefore, Cornwallis gleefully told one of 
his officers that they would " bag the old fox " on the 
next day. The officer suggested that it might be better 
not to postpone it till the morrow ; but Cornwallis answered 
that this time the Americans could not escape. That 
same night, however, Washington took advantage of the 
fact that the roads froze hard enough to enable him to re- 
move his cannon, and slipped away by back roads, leaving 
his camp fires burning brightly so as to deceive the enemy. 
When the British awoke the next morning, the " old fox " 
was gone, and sounds of firing in the direction of Prince'- 
ton soon convinced them that a battle must be going on 
there. 



262 



Running into Cornwallis's tent, an officer roused him, 
crying: "To arms, general! Washington has outgen- 
eraled us. Let us fly to the rescue of Princeton!" But, 
notwithstanding all their haste, they reached Princeton 
only after the battle — on the present college grounds — was 
all over, and the victorious Washington had safely advanced 
to Mor'ris-town Heights. This campaign, in the dead of 
winter, was so wonderful that it won for Washington the 
title of *' Savior of his Country," and Frederick the Great 
of Prussia once said that it was the most briUiant piece of 
generalship in the pages of history. 



>>®4c 



LXIX. THE FIGHT AT BENNINGTON. 

WHILE Washington was spending the rest of the 
winter at Morristown, the news of his triumphs 
reached France. FrankHn had been sent there, in 1776, 
to secure help, if possible. His reputation as a man of 
science, his great talents, and his affable manners made 
him a great favorite in Paris, where the fashionable 
ladies and gentlemen carried fans and snuffboxes decorated 
with his portrait. But although both king and queen 
received Franklin very graciously, they would not at first 
promise him any aid. 

A young French nobleman named La-fa-yette', longing 
to help the Americans, now decided to leave his young 
wife and home. But as the king forbade him to leave 
court, he secretly embarked upon a vessel he fitted out 
himself, and crossed the Atlantic. Then, as soon as he 



263 



landed, he went straight to Congress and offered to serve 
the United States without pay. A few days later he met 
Washington, whose helper he became, and who soon learned 
to love him as dearlv as if he had been his own son. 




Washington and Lafayette. 

Several other illustrious foreigners came in the same 
way to fight for America and freedom. The bravest 
among them were the Germans De Kalb' and Steu'ben, 

STO, OF THIR. COL. — 17 



264 

and the Poles Pu-las'ki and Kos-ci-us'ko. It is said that 
when Kosciusko first presented himself, and was asked 
what he could do, he briefly answered: "Try me." This 
reply so pleased Washington that he made the young man 
his aid-de-camp. 

Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton, and 
his return toward New York, could not divert Howe from 
his purpose to secure Philadelphia. When summer came 
on, therefore, he set out with his fleet to take that city. 
Washington began retracing his steps, and, knowing that 
Howe could not sail up the Delaware, — which was de- 
fended by forts, — went to meet him at Chadds Ford on 
the Bran'dy-wine (1777). Here a battle was fought, and 
not only were the Americans defeated, but Lafayette was 
sorely wounded. ^ 

Although beaten, Washington's army retreated in good 
order to Philadelphia, which was soon taken by Howe and 
the British forces. Hoping to drive them away, Washing- 
ton surprised them, one morning, at Germantown. Here 
he would have won a brilliant victory, had not a dense fog 
made two divisions of his men shoot each other before 
they discovered their mistake, thus creating a panic. 

As there was nothing to be gained by fighting with 
exhausted troops, Washington now withdrew, and before 
long went to Valley Forge for the winter. Meanwhile, 
Howe attacked the forts on either side of the Delav/are 
River. One of these held out bravely for six days, re- 
fusing to surrender until it had been battered to pieces. 
Then, as one fort alone could not check the British fleet, 
the second surrendered also. 

Hoping to damage some of the British vessels at Phila,- 



265 

delphia, the patriots made rude torpedoes, which were 
placed inside of small kegs and sent floating down the 
river. One of these engines struck a cake of ice and ex- 
ploded, and the British, thus warned of danger, shot at 
every floating object they saw, thus waging what has 
been called in fun the *' Battle of the Kegs." 

The British, having nothing else to do, now settled 
down comfortably in Philadelphia, where they lived on 
the very best of everything. They spent most of their 
time giving balls and parties, and grew so fat and lazy 
that, as Franklin wittily said, " Howe has not taken Phila- 
delphia so much as Philadelphia has taken Howe." This 
remark proved true, for although the plan had been 
that Howe should march northward, he was delayed by 
Washington until it was almost too late. Besides, we are 
told that the British general never received positive orders 
to go north, for the paper, being badly written, was laid 
aside to be copied, and forgotten until too late. 

Meanwhile the British again tried to carry out their 
plan of invading New York from Canada. This time, 
while one army started from Lake Ontario for the Mo'hawk 
valley, Burgoyne came southward up Lake Champlain, 
with British and Indian troops, and took Forts Ticon- 
deroga and Edward. This was considered a great vic- 
tory in England, and when King George heard that Ticon- 
deroga was taken, he clapped his hands and shouted : " I 
have beat them! I have beat all the Americans!" 

This was not true, however. But General Schuy'ler, 
sent to oppose Burgoyne, had so small a force that all 
he could do was to hinder the enemy's advance by cutting 
down trees and destroying bridges. 



266 



The king's advisers had told Burgoyne to hire Indians 
to help him, and in spite of all he could do to prevent it, 
these savage allies fought with their usual cruelty. They 
even killed and scalped Jane McCrea, a beautiful young 
lady, who, it is said, was on her way to meet a British 
officer to whom she was engaged. When this man saw 
her long golden locks among the scalps the Indians brought 
back, he left the army, and spent the rest of his life alone, 
mourning for his betrothed. 

After taking the two forts, Burgoyne, hearing that there 
were cannon and stores at Ben'ning-ton, Vermont, sent part 
of his German troops thither to secure them. But when 
his men drew near this place, they found it ably defended 
by General Stark. 

Even as a boy, this American patriot had always shown 
great courage and presence of mind. Once, when a 
prisoner of the Indians, and forced to run the gantlet, 
Stark snatched a club from one of his captors, and 
struck right and left with such vigor that he dealt more 
blows than he received. Later on, he also did many brave 
deeds during the French and Indian wars. 

When the Germans drew near Bennington, Stark led his 
men against the foe, crying : '* There they are, boys ! We 
beat them to-day or Molly Stark's a w^idow." The men, 
fired by his example, fought so bravely that they soon 
won a signal victory. As Washington said, this was a 
'' grand stroke," for the Germans were almost all captured 
or killed, while only a few of the Americans were lost. 

We are told that one old man had five sons in this 
battle. On the morrow, a neighbor, wishing to break the 
news of one son's death, gently said : '' One of your sons 



26; 

has been unfortunate," " Did he run away or neglect 
his duty?" the father asked quickly. "No; worse than 
that ! He has fallen, but while fighting bravely." " Ah ! " 
said the father, "then I am satisfied!" For the old man 
was such a good patriot that he was quite willing his sons 
should die for their country, and considered that only 
traitors and cowards needed pity. 



3j«<C 



LXX. BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER. 

THE victory at Bennington not only saved the Ameri- 
can cannon and supplies from the hands of the foe, 
but enabled Stark and the Green Mountain Boys to get 
between Burgoyne and Canada. They thus cut him off 
from all help from the north, whence he expected both 
food and ammunition for his men. 

While Burgoyne was thus between Generals Schuyler 
and Stark, St. Leg'er, another British general, was coming 
along the Mohawk valley to join Burgoyne at Albany. 
On his way, however, he stopped to besiege Fort Stan'wix, 
or Schuyler. Eight hundred volunteers set out to rein- 
force the garrison, but on the way thither, at 0-ris'ka-ny, 
they were surprised by the Indian chief Brant. Their 
leader. General Her'ki-mer, mortally wounded in the very 
beginning of the engagement, bade his men place him 
under a tree, and then bravely said : " Now, go and fight. 
I will face the enemy." In spite of pain, he calmly lighted 
his pipe, and, while smoking, directed his troops with such 
vigor that before long the Indians were routed. 



268 



The garrison at Fort StanWix, hearing shots in the 
forest, made a brave sortie, in which they captured five 
flags from St. Legen These they hoisted above their fort, 
upside down, putting above them all a new flag made from 
pieces of a soldier's old shirt, a blue jacket, and a red flan- 
nel petticoat. Although fashioned from such queer ma- 
terials, this flag bore thirteen alternate red and white 
stripes, and in a blue field in one corner was a wreath of 
thirteen white stars, the number of the United States. 
This was the new American flag suggested by Wash- 
ington — whose coat of arms bore stars and stripes — and 
adopted by Congress in June, 1777. 

But while the patriots thus fashioned a rude flag in the 
wilderness, and were the first to fight under this emblem, 
it was Mrs. Ross, of Philadelphia, who made the first 
American flag of this kind, in June, 1777. 

When Schuyler heard of Herkimer's brave stand, and 
of the bold sortie from Fort Stanwix, he bade Arnold go 
and relieve the fort. Fearing that his force might not 
prove strong enough, Arnold made use of a trick. He 
told one of the prisoners, a half-witted lad, that he should 
be free if he would only do exactly as he was bidden. 
The lad agreed, and, clad in torn garments, ran to S^ 
Leger's camp, loudly shouting, " The Americans are com- 
ing!" Of course the British and Indians crowded around 
him, and when the idiot was asked how many men were 
on the way, he answered by pointing mysteriously to the 
leaves on the trees overhead. This strange behavior made 
St. Leger believe that a large force was advancing, and 
created such a panic among his men that, in spite of all 
he could do, they beat a hasty retreat. 



269 

As St. Leger had gone back, and Howe had not come 
up the Hudson, Burgoyne was left entirely alone in the 
heart of the enemy's country. Schuyler was therefore on 
the point of winning a glorious victory, after all his hard 
work, when Congress suddenly bade him give up his com- 
mand to General Gates. Although wounded to the quick 
by this order, Schuyler was too noble a man to show any 
anger. He gallantly said, ** The country before every- 
thing," and asked permission of Gates to serve as an officer 
under him, since he could no longer command. 

Burgoyne was surrounded, and seeing that he must 
fight, he advanced toward the American position on 
Be^mis Heights, near which the first battle of Sar-a-to^ga 
took place. But night came on before it was over, and 
for more than two weeks the armies stood face to face, 
watching each other closely, yet not daring to risk a new 
battle. Finally, seeing that he must fight, starve, or re- 
treat, Burgoyne marched out again, to face the Americans 
in what is known as the battle of Stiirwa-ter. 

Daniel Morgan and his sharpshooters, posted behind trees, 
carefully singled out the bravest men, and shot them with 
unerring aim. Indeed, such was their skill that it is said 
Morgan's riflemen could '' toss up an apple and shoot all 
the seeds out of it as it fell." 

Chief among the British officers on that day was General 
Fra^ser, who, when urged to take a less exposed position, 
simply replied: " My duty forbids me to fly from danger." 
Even while he was speaking thus, Morgan pointed him out 
to one of his best marksmen, saying : " That gallant officer 
is General Fraser. I admire and honor him ; but he must 
die. Stand among those bushes, and do your duty." 



2/0 

These orders were so promptly carried out that a moment 
later Fraser lay among the dead. 

Arnold had been unjustly deprived of his command, 
but he could not keep out of the fray. Dashing to the 
front, he led the advance with his usual bravery, and 
forced his way into the British camp. But as he reached 
it he fell wounded in the same leg which had suffered at 
Quebec. His men tenderly bore him off the field of bat- 
tle, where he had won a victory while General Gates was 
lingering in his tent. 

During the battle, some women and children who were 
with the British army crouched in terror in the cellar of a 
neighboring house, listening to the shriek of the cannon 
balls overhead. The wounded in this building clamored 
for water, until, knowing the men would perish if they 
ventured out, a soldier's wife marched boldly down to the 
river. She did this several times, in full view of the Amer- 
icans, who admired her courage and let her alone. 

The battle had raged so fiercely that Burgoyne re- 
treated to Saratoga, where he held a council of war to 
determine whether he should surrender. In the midst of 
his talk, an eighteen-pound cannon ball passed right over 
the table where he and his officers sat, so they quickly and 
wisely concluded that it was high time to give up (1777). 
The British soldiers, therefore, laid down their arms, and 
the Americans marched into their camp playing " Yankee 
Doodle," the tune they had adopted as a national air. 

We are told that Burgoyne, on handing Gates his sword 
in token of surrender, proudly remarked: " The fortune 
of war, General Gates, has made me your prisoner"; to 
which Gates answered, as he gave it back : '' I shall 



271 







^ 



^^^/^i 



Burgoyne's Surrender. 



always be ready to bear testimony that it has not been 
through any fault of your Excellency." Later on, touched 
by the courtesy of Schuyler, whose house he had burned 
down, Burgoyne said : *' You show me much kindness, 
though I have done 5^ou much injury." ''That was the 
fate of war," said Schuyler, kindly; 'Met us say no more 
about it." 

LXXI. THE WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE. 

Although Gates received all the credit at first, the 
/V two battles of Saratoga were really won by Schuy- 
ler, Morgan, and Arnold. Burgoyne's surrender proved 
the turning point of the Revolutionary War, so the 



272 

fight at Saratoga is known as one»of the decisive battles of 
the world. Not only did it end the British plan of sepa- 
rating New England from the Southern States, but it made 
the French promise to help the Americans openly. It 
also gave King George such a fright that he even offered 
to let the Americans send members to Parliament, if they 
would lay down their arms and promise to obey him. 

But this offer, which would have more than satisfied 
the colonists a short time before, came too late. They 
had suffered so much that they were not willing to give 
up what they had won and again become subject to a 
king who, like those who had come before him, might at 
any time change his mind or break his promises. Be- 
sides, they remembered only too clearly that, after granting 
charters, kings had often taken them away again, and so 
they decided to keep on fighting until the matter was 
settled once for all. 

The news of the victory at Saratoga created a great 
sensation in Paris, where the French had been waiting to 
see how things turned out before they openly sided with 
the Americans. The king now not only acknowledged the 
independence of the United Colonies of America (1778), 
but made a treaty of friendship and commerce with them, 
and soon sent a fleet to help them fight the British. 

This happy turn of affairs was mainly brought about by 
Franklin, who for the past two years had been making as 
many friends for America as he could. Every one ad- 
mired him for his learning and good nature, and the French 
minister Turgot (tur-go') once proposed his health, 
saying : " He snatched a thunderbolt from heaven, and the 
scepter from the hand of the tyrant!" 



273 



But Franklin — who had a keen sense of humor, and, Hke 
all really great men, was very modest — smiled, and quaintly 
answered that while he appreciated the kindness of the 
speech, he was obliged to confess that not only had he 
left thunder in the clouds, — just where he had found 
it, — but that more than one million of his countrymen had 
helped him snatch the scepter from the hands of the tyrant ! 

News traveled so slowly in those days that it took 
months before Frankhn heard of Burgoyne's surrender, 
and before Washington and Howe received word that the 
French were going to help the colonies openly. These 
months were full of hardships for all the Americans, for 
while the men were away fighting, the heroic women 
were obliged to do their work too. 




At Valley Forge. 



Washington's army, as we have seen, had encamped at 
Valley Forge, where the soldiers lived in rude log huts. 
They were without proper food or clothes, and cowered 
miserably over camp fires, for which they had to carry 



• 274 

wood on their backs from neighboring forests. Even 
General Washington had but one room, and Hved on cab- 
bage and potatoes, with a few hickory nuts for dessert 
from time to time. 

His heart was wrung at the sight of his men's sufferings, 
and as soon as his wife joined him at Valley Forge, he 
begged her to work as hard as she could to supply the 
men with stockings. Mrs. Washington's own knitting 
needles now flew faster than ever ; besides, she interested 
all her friends in the work, and every day visited the 
soldiers' quarters, carrying them the stout garments thus 
secured. But provisions grew so scarce that Washington 
had to send all the women home, and Mrs. Washington 
again withdrew to Mount Vernon, where she lived as 
economically as possible, working day and night for her 
husband and the army. 

As if matters were not bad enough already, some of 
the officers now formed a plot to take the command away 
from Washington, and put Gates at the head of the army 
in his stead. This plot, known as the Conway cabal, was 
headed by a man named Conway, to whom Washington 
had been particularly kind, but who was angry because 
he had not been promoted as fast as he wished. 

The question was brought before Congress at Baltimore, 
where, hearing that there was danger of Washington's 
being dismissed for lack of a vote, Du'er, one of his friends, 
although ill in bed, determined to go to the meeting. His 
doctor, however, said that if he did so it would be at the 
risk of his life. " Do you mean I should expire before 
reaching the place ? " asked Duer. ** No ; but I should not 
answer for your leaving it alive," answered the doctor. 



275 

Hearing this, the good man firmly said: ''Very well, sir; 
you have done your duty; now I will do mine." Then 
he called for a litter to carry him to Congress. 

Luckily for him, some of Washington's friends came 
back in time to prevent his leaving his sick room. But 
better still for the welfare of our country, the Conway plot 
failed, and Washington remained at the head of the army. 
Conway had been so ungrateful that he was forced to 
leave the country, where people despised him for the mean 
part he had played. 

All these trials wrung Washington's noble heart, and 
as he had no privacy in his headquarters, he sometimes 
rode out alone to think. A Quaker, hearing a noise in 
the bushes, once stole up cautiously, and found the gen- 
eral's horse tied to a tree. A few feet farther away, he 
beheld Washington kneeling in the snow, praying aloud 
for his country, with great tears streaming down his 
cheeks. The good Quaker crept away again unseen, but 
in telling the story some years later, he remarked that he 
felt at the time that the Lord could not but answer the 
fervent prayer of so good a man. 



>>®<c 



LXXn. THE QUAKER WOMAN. 

THE British quartered in Philadelphia were leading an 
easy and merry life; but several times during the 
winter Howe made plans to surprise Washington's troops. 
To his dismay, however, his plans always seemed known 
to the Americans, and therefore failed. Afraid that some 



276 

spy might overhear him, Howe cmce held a secret meeting 
at night in the house of a Quaker woman, named Lydia 
Darrah. To make sure that he should not be overheard, 
he bade her go to bed, and see that all her family retired 
likewise. 

Lydia obeyed, and the general, thinking all was safe, 
explained his plan to his officers. But the Quaker woman 
had noiselessly slipped out of her room again, and was 
now standing at the door listening to all that was said. 
As soon as the talk was over she crept back to her room, 
and when the officers had all gone, Howe called her, as 
agreed, to lock the door behind him. But she pretended 
to be sound asleep, and let him knock at her door three 
times before she rose, yawning, to show him out. 

The next day, Lydia, who had not dared breathe a 
word of what she had heard to any one, said she was out 
of flour, and got a pass to go and buy some at a village 
near by. Meeting a patriot there, she quickly warned 
him of Washington's peril, and then quietly went home. 

The next day Howe crossly said to her: "It is very 
strange ; you, I know, were asleep, for I knocked at your 
door three times before you heard me ; yet it is certain 
we were betrayed. On arriving, we found Washington so 
prepared at every point that we have been compelled to 
march back without injuring our enemy, hke a parcel of 
fools." Lydia heard this without making a sign, and not 
till the war was over did it become known that it was she 
who had saved the army. 

Besides the American patriots, foreigners were helping 
Washington with all their might. Among these was the 
Prussian officer, Baron Steuben, who knew no English, and 



277 

therefore brought over an interpreter with him. Accord- 
ing to one story, this interpreter made an idle bet to kiss 
the first Yankee girl he met. Landing at Portsmouth, 
this man won his wager by stepping up to a pretty girl, 
bowing politely, and begging permission to kiss her, 
saying : " Before leaving my native land to fight for 
American freedom, I made a vow to ask, in earnest of 
victory, a kiss from the first lady I should meet." The 
story adds that the young lady accepted the kiss, saying 
she could not refuse so small a favor to a man who had 
come to fight, and if necessary, to die, for her country. 

Steuben joined Washington at Valley Forge, and there 
began to drill the troops, so they could meet the British 
on an equal footing. At first the German officer was 
shocked by their lack of discipline, and swore at them in 
every language he knew ; sometimes he even called to his 
interpreter-. ''Come and swear for me in Enghsh; these 
fellows will not do what I bid them." 

You see, soldiers in those days thought It manly to 
swear; and as Baron Steuben had been accustomed to 
European soldiers, who obeyed without a question, it 
took him some time to grow used to Americans, who, as 
he said, had to be told, ** This is the reason why you ought 
to do that," before they would obey. Still, he soon 
taught our men to fight like old and trained soldiers. 

The winter the troops spent at Valley Forge was one of 
the coldest ever seen, and therefore the soldiers' sufferings 
were very great. But with the spring, hope revived, for 
the news of the coming French fleet made the British 
leave Philadelphia to defend New York. 

General Howe having gone back to England for his 



278 



health, it was Clinton who conducted this retreat. Leav- 
ing the camp at Valley Forge, Washington pursued him 
across New Jersey, planning to engage him in a battle at 
Mon'moiith (1778). 

Here Lee, who had been exchanged for Prescott, and was 
again in command, disobeyed orders, and bade his men 
retreat. Warned by Lafayette, Washington came up just in 
time to check this movement, and, dashing up to Lee, hotly 
asked what his disobedience meant. Lee answered : ** These 
men cannot face the British grenadiers." But Washington 
exclaimed: '* They can do it, and they shall ! " Hewas right; 
the men could, and did, face the enemy bravely. But pre- 
cious time had been lost, and instead of winning a victory, 
the Americans only managed to stand their ground. 




During 
the bat- 
tle, Molly 
Pitcher, a 
gunner's wife 
carrying a pail of wa- 
ter to her husband, 
saw him fall. She immedi 



Molly Pitcher. 



279 

ately rushed forward, took his place, and, loading his can- 
non, fired it as quickly and well as he. In reward for filling 
her husband's place that day, Congress paid her a small 
pension, and the soldiers, who admired her pluck, ever 
after called her *' Major Molly." 

When darkness came on, the fight ceased, and Washing- 
ton flung himself down to rest. During the night an 
officer drew softly near, and the general quickly bade him 
advance and deliver his message, saying : " I lie here to 
think, and not to sleep." Washington's thoughts were busy, 
for now he could no longer doubt that Charles Lee was 
a traitor. Indeed, he foresaw what soon happened — that 
Lee would be dismissed from the army in disgrace. In 
fact, Lee, who had tried to harm the American cause, was 
never allowed to serve his country again, and had to with- 
draw to Virginia. There he lived a loveless and solitary 
Hfe, in a house whose only partitions w^ere chalk lines 
across the floor. 

LXXIII. PUTNAM'S ADVENTURES. 

ON the morrow of the battle of Monmouth, Washington 
found that Clinton had withdrawn his army so as to 
avoid a second battle. The British were now well on 
their way to New York, so Washington could no longer 
hope to overtake them. To hem them in, however, he 
stretched a line of American troops all the way from Mor- 
ristown to West Point. 

But Washington had to abandon his plan for seizing 
New York with the help of the French fleet, because 

STO OF THIR. COT,. — l8 



28o 



the vessels drew too much wat^r to be able to cross the 
bar. As the fleet could not reach New York, it made an 
attempt to seize Newport. Here it was met by British 
ships ; but before a battle could take place, a sudden 
storm scattered both fleets, and caused so much damage 
that they had to refit. 

When Clinton saw that Washington had drawn a close 
line about him in New Jersey, he tried to force the 
American general to break it by attacking the towns in 
Connecticut. But Washington would not stir, for he 
knew that General Israel Putnam, in charge of the forces 
there, was well able to look out for himselL As this 
Putnam is one of the heroes of the Revolutionary War, it 
will interest you to hear a few stories about him, which all 
Americans should know. 

We are told that, even as a lad, Putnam was famous for 
his courage. Once, when a wolf caused great damage in 
his neighbors* herds, he determined to kill it. But the 
wolf withdrew into its den, where it could be reached only 
by crawling along through a narrow passage. As the 
creature could neither be smoked nor starved out, Putnam 
offered to go in and kill it. Tying a rope to his foot, he 
bade his companions pull him out when they felt the rope 
twitch, or heard a shot. Then he crawled along the 
passage on his stomach, carefully holding his gun. At 
the end of a few minutes he came to a place where the 
passage widened a little, and there, in the darkness, he 
saw the yellow gleam of the big wolf's eyes! Putnam 
raised his gun, shot, and was dragged out by his compan- 
ions in such haste that his clothes were actually torn off 
his back, and his skin somewhat scraped. 



2«1 



Determined to know whether the old wolf was dead, 
Putnam, at the end of a few minutes, again crept into the 
den. When his companions obeyed the twitch of the 
rope a few minutes later, and drew him out a second time, 
they thought he was very heavy ; but when he got out 
they found he was dragging by the leg the biggest gray 
wolf they had ever seen! 

Putnam had taken part in the last French and Indian 
War. The year after the French took and destroyed Fort 
William Henry, he was with a British army that encamped 
on the same ground ; and when this army advanced to 
attack Ticonderoga, his company led the way. While they 
were thus marching through the woods, the French sur- 
prised them ; and had it not been that Rogers came to 
their rescue with more men, Putnam and his detachment 
would have fallen. At another time, we are told, Fort 
Edward took fire, and the powder magazine was in great 
danger. But Putnam, fought the flames inch by inch, put- 
ting them out barely in time to prevent the explosion of 
the whole store of ammunition. 

During this French and Indian War Putnam once volun- 
teered to mount guard at a place where the sentinel was 
always found dead in the morning. While watching there, 
he heard a strange noise in the bushes, and saw what he 
took in the darkness for a wild pig or a bear. He fired at 
it without a moment's delay, and, on drawing near, found 
he had killed an Indian, who, covered by a bearskin, and 
imitating the actions of an animal, had always managed to 
get near enough to the sentinels to kill them. 

Another time, when Putnam and Rogers were sent to 
recapture some baggage wagons, the latter spent the noon 



282 



hour in target practice, althouglrwarned it was dangerous. 
The Indians, guided by the sound of firing, fell upon the 
British unawares, and seizing Putnam bound him to a 
tree. 

For a while Putnam found himself between the fire of 
his own party and that of the Indians ; and when the latter 
were driven from the battlefield, they took him away with 
them. After torturing him in many ways, breaking his 
jaw and cutting open his cheek, the Indians tied him to a 
tree and began to roast him alive. 

The fire was raging around him when a sudden and 
violent shower put it out. But as soon as the rain was 
over the savages rekindled it. They would have suc- 
ceeded in roasting Putnam alive, had not a French officer 
come up just then, rushed into the fire, cut him loose, and' 
thus saved him from a horrible death. 

Burned, gashed, disfigured, and bowed down by weak- 
ness, Putnam was taken to Montreal, where the other 
prisoners were careful not to tell who he was. So the 
French, thinking him a poor old man who would never 
have the strength to fight again, gladly exchanged him 
for one of their captive soldiers. 

Putnam then went on fighting again till the war was 
over. He took an active part in the capture of Montreal 
in 1760, and in that of Havana two years later. 

A British general once showed him a French vessel on 
Lake Ontario, saying it must be destroyed. Putnam im- 
mediately volunteered to destroy it, and rowing out in the 
dark, he secretly drove wedges behind the rudder. As 
the vessel could no longer obey its helm, it was soon 
driven ashore and wrecked. 



283 



LXXIV. INDIAN CRUELTY. 



THE French and Indian War ended, 
sumed work on his Connecticut farm. 
of the Stamp Act trouble 
he and some of his fellow- 
citizens visited the house 
of one of the men who 
had stamped paper for 
sale. They told him 
he must not sell a sin- 
gle sheet of it ; and when 
he objected that he must 
mind the king, Putnam de- 
clared that if he dared dis- 
obey them his house would 
" be level with the dust in 
five minutes." 

You have al- 
ready seen how 
quick Putnam was 
to respond to the 
call when the pa- 
triots flew to arms. 
Ever since the begin- 
ning of the war h< 
had been equally 
active. Called 

upon to meet the 
British in Connect- 
icut, with but very 



Putnam re- 
At the time 




Putnam's Ride. 



284 

few men, Putnam nevertheless managed to hamper their 
movements greatly. 

On one occasion he found himself almost surrounded 
by the British. Calling to his companions to save 
themselves, he drew off the British soldiers, who hotly 
pursued him. With the enemy on three sides of him, 
and a frightfully steep and rocky slope on the other, it 
seemed quite impossible that Putnam should escape. But 
he boldly drove his spurs into his steed, rode safely down 
the stone steps at Horse'neck, and as none of the British 
dared follow him, he thus managed to get away. 

Hearing that the British were burning farmhouses and 
villages in Connecticut, Washington fancied it might be a 
good plan to strike a blow which would frighten them and 
make them come back. He therefore planned to storm 
Stony Point, a place on the Hudson, where the British 
were building a new fort. 

Sending for Anthony Wayne, an officer who was so 
brave and daring that his men generally called him '' Mad 
Anthony," Washington told him what he wanted. The 
young man, devoted to Washington, promptly cried : 
" I'll storm hell, general, if you will only plan it!" The 
patriotic young soldier's answer was so well meant that 
Washington, who never swore himself, and generally re- 
proved his men when they did so, merely smiled on this 
occasion, and quietly said : " Hadn't we better try Stony 
Point first?" 

The Americans, with guns unloaded and bayonets fixed, 
drew near the fort unseen, led by an old negro who often 
went in and out of the British camp to sell strawberries. 
He walked up to the sentinel, and whispered : " The fort is 



285 



ours." As this was the password, the soldier began to 
chat with him, and thus did not notice the Americans 
creeping up behind him until they seized and gagged him. 
The patriots thus got halfway up the hill before the 
alarm was given and firing began. Although one of the 




The Capture of Stony Point. 

first shots wounded Mad Anthony, he bade his men carry 
him, and, cheering his soldiers on, led the way into 
the fort. Taken by surprise, the British lost many men 
and their new fort, and at two o'clock in the morning 
Wayne wrote to Washington: "The fort and garrison, 
with Colonel Johnson, are ours. Our officers and men 
behaved like men who are determined to be free." This 
charge at Stony Point (1779) is considered one of the most 



286 



brilliant deeds of the Revolutic^ary War, and the place 
where it occurred is often visited. 

When war first broke out the British hired many 
Indians to fight for them. While the two main armies 
were busy in New Jersey, southern New York, and Con- 
necticut, people living in northern New York, and all along 
the western frontier, were in constant danger. Led by a 
man named Butler, some Tories — friends of the king — 
and many Indians suddenly appeared in the Wy-o'ming 
Valley, in Pennsylvania. Here they cruelly murdered 
men, women, and children. We are even told that a cruel 
soldier once ran his bayonet through a tiny baby, and 
tossed it out of its cradle, saying it was a rebel also! 

Not satisfied with one raid of this kind, the Indians soon 
made a second one at Charry Valley, in New York. These 
massacres roused the Americans' anger, not only against 
the Indians, but also against the British for hiring the 
help of such cruel allies. Still, it was only the king and 
some of his ministers who were to blame for this, for most 
Englishmen felt like Burke. When the order had been 
given to make use of the Indians, but forbidding them to 
be cruel, Burke made a speech in the House of Commons, 
saying: " Suppose there was a riot on Tower Hill. What 
would the keeper of his Majesty's hons do? Would he 
not fling open the dens of the wild beasts, and then ad- 
dress them thus : ' My gentle Hons, my humane bears, my 
tender-hearted hyenas, go forth! But I exhort you, as 
you are Christians and members of civilized society, to 
take care not to hurt any man, woman, or child!' " 

To punish the Indians for the massacres at Wyoming 
Valley and Cherry Valley, General Sul'li-van now marched 



2^-] 



into the Indian territory, where he burned more than forty 
villages. He also killed so many warriors that the Indians 
in that part of the country never again dared rise up 
against the Americans. 

The Indian war not only raged in the northeast, but 
extended even into what is now Ken-tuck'y- Although 
there were but very few settlers there then, many of these 
were slain. To put an end to Indian raids, General George 
Rogers Clark of Virginia marched northward, hoping to 
conquer all the land between the Ohio, the Lakes, and the 
Mississippi. 

Although his army was small, it was composed of brave 
men, used to the woods and to the Indian way of fight- 
ing. They followed him boldly through the wilderness, 
fording rivers and streams. We are told that they once 
came to water so deep that their little drummer boy, see- 




Clark's March. 



288 



ing it would rise above his head, used his drum as a 
raft, begging the tallest soldier to steer him safely across. 

Marching thus from point to point, Clark's forces took 
all the forts in the Illinois country ; but as he had few 
men, he could not send fair-sized garrisons to all. Some 
time after Vin-cennes' submitted, a large British force 
appeared to capture it, and loudly commanded the Ameri- 
can officer there to surrender. After some parley, this 
man consented to do so, provided he and his garrison 
were allowed to march out with all the honors of war. 

The British officer granted this request; but imagine his 
surprise and anger when he saw the officer march out, 
followed by only one man! These two composed the 
whole garrison, and could boast that they had held the 
fort of Vincennes against a force of eight hundred men. 
When Clark heard what had happened, he marched over 
with a large force and recaptured the fort. 



3>«4C 



LXXV. BOONE IN KENTUCKY. 

As you have heard, the land south of the Ohio suffered 
/V much from Indian raids. This part of the country 
had already been the scene of so many Indian battles that 
it well deserved the name of Kentucky, or the '* dark and 
bloody ground." Six years before the Revolutionary 
War began, Daniel Boone, a hardy pioneer, first crossed 
the Alleghany Mountains and came into this beautiful 
region. Seeing the tall forest trees and plentiful game, 
he thought it would be a good place to live in. 



289 

After wandering about it for months, and escaping from 
the hands of some Indians who had taken him captive, 
Boone made up his mind to settle there. He therefore went 
back to North CaroHna for his wife and daughter, and, 
with his brother and several other pioneers, returned to 
Kentucky, where he formed a settlement called Boones'- 
bor-o (1775). Like all pioneer villages, this was merely 
a collection of a few log huts, surrounded by a tall 
palisade to serve as a rampart against Indian attacks. 

Boone's daughter and two younger girls, little suspect- 
ing danger, once went out in a canoe to pick flowers along 
the banks of a stream. Suddenly several Indians sprang 
out of a thicket, seized them, and bore them off into the 
woods. While the younger girls cried helplessly, Boone's 
daughter, seeing it was of no use to struggle, quietly fol- 
lowed her captor. But she took care to leave the print of 
her shoe here and there where the soil was damp, to break 
twigs of bushes, and to fasten shreds of her dress to the 
briers along the way, so that her tracks could be followed. 

As soon as the girls' capture was discovered, Boone and 
six other men set out in pursuit. Thanks to the girl's 
clever way of marking her passage, they soon came to 
where the savages were camping in the woods. Creeping 
up stealthily, the white men noiselessly got between the 
children and the Indians, for they knew the latter would 
kill and scalp their captives at the first alarm. The In- 
dians, suddenly finding themselves in danger, hastily fled, 
leaving captives and weapons behind them. 

In the third year of the Revolutionary War, some Indians, 
hired by the British to make war along the frontier, came 
to attack Boonesboro. But the place was so gal- 



290 



lantly defended by the settlers that they could not get in. 
They vainly directed a steady fire against the palisades for 
some time, and then withdrew to a short distance to rest. 
The settlers, who had very little powder within the 
palisade, were anxious to secure a keg full of powder that 
was standing in a hut near by. Still, they knew that if a 
man ventured out, the Indians would probably kill him, 
and they did not feel that they could spare a single one. 
A brave girl, Elizabeth Zane, therefore insisted upon 
going, for she said they could easily get along without 

her, although they needed 
men. 

her request, the gate 
ened, and she sped 
an arrow to the house 
where the powder 
had been left. 
The Indians, as- 
tonished at the 
sight of a woman 
running out of 
the fort, stood 
perfectly still. In 
a few seconds 
theysaw her rush 
back, her apron 
full of powder. 
Now they under- 
stood what it all 
meant ; but it was too late to stop the brave girl, who had 
reached the fort in safety. The powder thus secured 




Elizabeth Zane brings Powder. 



291 

saved the settlement; for the Indians, after losing many 
men, gave up the siege and went home. 

In 1778, while out hunting, Boone was captured by 
Indians, who carried him off to Detroit. They were about 
to kill him when an old squaw claimed him to take the 
place of her son w^ho had been slain. The Indians con- 
sented, and Boone was adopted by the squaw, who pulled 
out all his hair, except a scalp lock, which she dressed 
with feathers in fine Indian style. 

Boone now made believe to be quite satisfied to stay 
with the Indians ; so they took him out hunting every day, 
giving him only a certain amount of powder and bullets. 
Boone was such a good marksman that he soon found he 
could kill his game with half a bullet and less powder. He 
therefore secretly cut his bullets in two, and although he 
brought back a bird, rabbit, or deer for every charge the 
savages gave him, he really saved half his ammunition 
without their suspecting it. 

When he had thus collected enough powder and bullets, 
Boone stole a piece of dried meat and some parched corn, 
and went out hunting, as usual. But as soon as he got out 
of sight he began running as hard as he could. As he ran 
he hid his traces, so the Indians could not follow him. 
Thus he darted along fallen trees, jumped from stone to 
stone, ran up and down shallow streams, and once, at least, 
grasped a trailing grapevine, and, swinging hard, landed 
on his feet a long distance ahead. 

The Indians, finding out his escape, soon started to 
follow him ; but while they were hunting around for his 
broken tracks, he ran on, pausing to rest only when his 
strength gave out. Boone thus reached the Ohio, where 



292 



he had the good luck to find a leaky canoe, in which he 
paddled across the stream. 

Then, for the first time, he used one of the bullets he 
had saved to kill a turkey, which he roasted over the first 

fire he had dared to light since 
his escape. Tramping thus all 
the way from the Indian camp 
to Boonesboro, Boone found 
his home deserted. At first 
he thought all his family 
had been killed; but he 
soon heard they had merely 
gone back to their old home, 
thinking he was dead. 
As he knew the Indians would 
I soon come to attack Boonesboro, 

Boone collected about fifty- 
five men, who helped him repair 
the palisade. They were scarcely 
through their work when more than 
four hundred Indians appeared, led 
by a French officer serving in the 
British army. When they bade Boone 
surrender, he answered : ** We are de- 
termined to defend our fort while a man of us lives." 

Although the Indians tried to break into the fort, they 
were driven back, and their bullets had no effect on the 
heavy logs of the palisade. Next they made an attempt 
to set fire to the fort, but the flames were quickly quenched ; 
and when they began to tunnel a way into the place, they 
were forced to give it up. ** 




Boone's Grapevine. 



293 

Weary of vain attempts, the Indians finally withdrew ; 
and when they had gone, Boone and his companions picked 
up a hundred and twenty-five pounds of bullets, which 
had fallen harmlessly along the palisade. Later on, Boone 
brought his family back to Kentucky ; but the Indians 
continued to make trouble during the next ten years. 
Still, when those dark days were all over, so many settlers 
came into Kentucky that Boone declared the place was 
too crowded for him, and said he needed more elbow- 
room. 

He therefore removed first to a place near the Great 
Ka-naVha, and then to Missouri, which at that time be- 
longed to Spain. Here he lived long enough to see many 
settlers cross the Mississippi. He was again saying that 
he felt crowded, and talking of moving still farther west, 
when he died, at the age of eighty-five, still hale and hearty, 
and a famous hunter and pioneer. 

LXXVI. FAMOUS SEA FIGHTS. 

WHILE American patriots were busy fighting the 
British on land, others, equally brave, were fighting 
them at sea. As soon as the war began. Congress gave 
seamen letters of marque, which were permissions to at- 
tack and seize any British vessel they met. 

The bravest and best known of all the American seamen 
of this time was John Paul Jones. Although born in Scot- 
land, he adopted this country for his own, and, when the 
War of Independence began, offered his services to Con- 
gress. He proved such an able seaman that in 1777 he 



294 

was sent to France on an important errand. Although 
the French did not give him a large ship, as he had hoped, 
he boldly cruised around in a little American vessel called 
the Ranger, on which he hoisted the first American flag 
ever seen and saluted at sea. 

Paul Jones sailed boldly along, capturing and sinking 
English vessels, and even running into the port of White- 
haVen, where he tried to burn all the shipping. Then, as 
his boat was no longer good enough to continue fighting, 
he went back to France, in quest of a long-promised new 
ship. But after five months' weary delay, he was still 
ashore and waiting. 

One day he read in *' Poor Richard's Almanac'' : *' If you 
would have your business done, go; if not, send." This 
saying seemed so true that he immediately set out for Paris. 
There he managed to talk to the French minister, who 
again promised him a fine ship. But when the young sea- 
man saw this craft, five days later, he was sorely disap- 
pointed, for it was both old and clumsy. 

Still, any kind of a ship was better than no ship at all ; so 
Paul Jones named it Bonhoimne RicJiard (bo-nom' re-shar'), 
a French translation of " Poor Richard." Then he set sail 
in it, accompanied by a few smaller vessels, and coasted 
along the North Sea. There Jones ran near the shore, 
where his visits were so dreaded that, we are told, an old 
Scotch minister at Kirk-cal'dy once prayed : " Now, dear 
Lord, don't you think it a shame for you to send this vile 
pirate to rob our folk of Kirkcaldy ? You know that they 
are poor enough already, and have nothing to spare." 

Still, Paul Jones was not so vile a pirate as the old 
minister supposed, for whenever he landed for provisions, 



295 



he paid the poor people for the food and cattle he took. 
We are also told that, his men having once robbed a castle 
of its silver plate, Jones sent it all back, eight years later, 
with a polite note. 

But while Jones did not wish to harm the poor, he did 
want to damage the British navy as much as he could. He 
therefore cruised about until he met the Se-rapis, a British 
man-of-war,offFlam'- 
bor-oughHead(i 779). 
Here was waged one 
of the fiercest naval 
battles ever fought. 
Although Jones's ship 
was afire from the very 
beginning, his guns ail 
disabled, the vessel 
shot away between 
decks and slowly sink- 
ing, he boldly lashed 
it fast to the Serapis. 
While doing so he 
heard one of his men 
swear, and turning 
to him, quietly said : 
''Don't swear, sir; in 
another moment we 
may all be in eter- 
nity." — " 

Bv this time the '^^^ Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis. 

smoke was so thick that the British captain could not see 
whether the American flag had been hauled down. He 

STO. OF THIR. COL. — I9 




296 

therefore shouted : '' Have you struck your colors ? " But 
Jones coolly answered: ** I have not yet begun to fight." 
Such was Jones's pluck that the British commander finally 
yielded ; but when he gave up his sword to Paul Jones, he 
haughtily said: '' It is with great reluctance that I surren- 
der my sword to a man who fights with a halter round 
his neck." 

Paul Jones gave him back the w^eapon, politely saying : 
" Captain Pearson, you have fought like a hero, and I have 
no doubt that your sovereign will reward you for it in 
the most ample manner." These words came true, for 
after Captain Pearson had been duly exchanged, George 
III. called him to court and made him a knight. 

As the BonJiomvie Richard was sinking, Jones trans- 
ferred his men and prisoners to the Serapis. Then he 
sadly watched his own ship settle down and vanish be- 
neath the waves. The Serapis was next taken to France, 
where it was discovered that Captain Landals (lahN-da'), 
the French commander of one of the smaller vessels in 
Jones's fleet, was insane. Paul Jones and his men had 
known this foi: some time, because Landais had disobeyed 
orders several times, and when the Boiihoimne Richard 
was fighting against the Serapis, he had even used his 
cannon against it instead of attacking the enemy. 

The news of Paul Jones's victory caused great rejoicings 
both in America and in France, and when the young cap- 
tain returned to the latter country, he was invited to court 
with Franklin. King Louis XVI. heard Jones's account 
of the fight, and told him that his enemy. Captain Pearson 
had just been knighted, and had received a new ship. 
Paul Jones then gayly answered : " Well, he deserved 



297 

the honor, and if I meet him in his new ship I'll make a 
lord of him." 

This answer greatly amused the king; but at the same 
time it showed that Paul Jones, hero as he was, had one 
great fault — that of boasting. When he came back to 
America, Congress honored him ; but as the young sailor 
did not think his services were well enough appreciated 
in America, he left our country soon after the war was 
ended, and went to serve Russia. 

Paul Jones was not the only hero on the seas at this 
time, for we are told the American privateers captured 
five hundred British vessels in three years, secured much 
booty, and did great harm to the shipping in several 
English ports. 

LXXVII. THE "SWAMP FOX." 

THE British had failed not only in their first attempt, 
against Boston, but also in their second, — to seize the 
Hudson valley and thus separate the southern colonies 
from New England. But as they were not yet ready to 
give up the struggle, they decided to try a third plan. 
That was to begin a new campaign in the far south, and 
march up the Atlantic coast, leaving nothing but con- 
quered people behind them. 

In 1778, therefore, they began their operations by 
besieging and taking Savannah. Soon after, they became 
masters of Au-gus'ta and of nearly all Georgia. These 
successes delighted them, for, with one province won, they 
fancied they would soon be masters of all the rest. 



298 



Still, before they could do mnCh more, the French fleet 
under D'Estaing (des-taN'), and an American army under 
Lincoln, came to recover Savannah. While the French 
were bombarding that city from their ships, the Ameri- 
cans, led by Pulaski, tried to storm it (1779). 

But in spite of a most gallant charge, the patriots were 
driven back with great loss. Among the dead was Ser- 
geant Jasper, still holding the flag given him at Fort 

Moultrie, and Count 
Pulaski, the generous 
Pole who had joined 
the army and served 
under Washington in 



the battle of the Bran- 
dy wine. Both of these 
men were so brave that 
their names will never 
be forgotten, and in Sa- 
vannah fine monu- 
ments have been erect- 
ed in their honor. 

The first attempt to 
take Savannah having 
failed, the French admi- 
ral refused to lend any 
more aid to the Amer- 
icans in the South. So 
Lincoln, after defend- 
ing Charleston alone for forty days, was forced to surrender. 
The British, coming to the city, exacted such hard condi- 
tions from him that they roused the indignation of all 




Pulaski's Monument in Savannah. 



299 

true Americans. But when the British minister heard that 
the city was taken, he proudly cried : " We look on Amer- 
ica as at our feet!" 

The British now overran the state, behaving most cruelly 
everywhere. An officer named Tarle'ton not only burned 
houses, and beat women and children, but when some 
Americans asked for quarter, — that is, vowed not to fight 
any more if he would spare their lives, — he broke his 
promise and had them all killed. Because he did not keep 
his word, the expression '' Tarleton's quarter" was used in 
the South as a term for immediate death. 

Although by Lincoln's surrender one American army 
was lost, the patriots were not ready to give up yet, and 
as soon as another force was raised. Gates was sent south- 
ward to command it. He was so proud of his victory at 
Saratoga that he started out full of confidence. When he 
stopped, on his way, to visit Lee, the latter, hearing him 
boast, quietly remarked : '' Take care your northern laurels 
do not turn to southern willows." 

Unfortunately, however, Gates paid no heed to this 
warning. Thinking he would soon force Cornwallis to 
surrender, he was very imprudent, and when he met the 
British at Cam'den, a few months later (1780), he suf- 
fered a defeat instead of winning a victory. We are told 
that when he saw the day was lost, Gates turned and fled, 
never daring to stop until he had put about eighty miles 
between himself and his foes. The German officer De 
Kalb, who had so generously come to help the Americans, 
fought in this battle with great courage, and died from 
the eleven wounds he received there. He is buried at 
Camden, where a monument marks his resting place. 



300 

This was the worst battle for the Americans during the 
whole war, and it was speedily followed by the loss of 
nearly all South CaroHna. The only people who still had 
courage to fight were a few patriots led by such heroes as 
Mar'i-on, Sumter, and Pickens. 

The first of these three men was so upright, brave, and 
gentlemanly that he has often been compared to a brave 
French knight, and is therefore known as the *' Bay'ard of 
the South." Marion and his men had retreats in the woods 
and swamps, whence they rnade sudden raids upon the 
British. It seems that the latter, wishing to exchange 
prisoners, once sent an officer into one of these hiding 
places under a flag of truce. As Marion did not wish the 
British to learn the way to his retreat, this officer was 
blindfolded and led a long distance. When his bandage 
was removed, he was surprised to find himself, not in a 
fort or house, as he had expected, but in a lonely spot 
in the woods. Marion stepped forward, politely offered 
him a seat on a log, and, when business was over, 
cordially invited him to share his dinner. 

The officer was just wondering where his dining room 
could be, when one of the ragged soldiers appeared, carry- 
ing a piece of bark on which smoked some sweet pota- 
toes, roasted in the camp fire. Marion helped his guest 
to a potato on a chip, and began to eat one himself 
with a relish. Of course the British officer immediately 
followed his example ; but he soon asked whether the 
American officers often dined so simply. Marion, the 
"Swamp Fox," answered, "Yes;" and then gayly added, 
'* but we are fortunate on this occasion, having company 
to entertain, to have more than our usual allowance." 



30I 




Marion's Dinner. 

The officer, hearing this, suggested that the Americans 
probably gave their soldiers big pay to make up for such 
poor fare and uncomfortable quarters. But Marion truth- 
fully answered that he received no salary at all. The 
astonished officer then asked why he served such a mean 
country at all ; and the brave young Southerner, looking 
him full in the face, proudly remarked that a man was 
always ready to do anything for the lady he loved, and 
that the name of his sweetheart was Liberty. 

The British officer could not but admire such a man and 
such an answer. On returning to camp, we are told, 
he left the service, saying he would have no share in de- 
priving such brave men as Marion of the rights due 
them. 



302 



LXXVIII. THE POOR SOLDIERS. 

IN the meantime things were going very badly in the 
North. The winter spent at Valley Forge had, indeed, 
been hard to bear, but that which Washington spent at 
Morristown was in some respects even worse. Congress, 
in those days, had no power to tax the people to raise 
money, the states were in many cases too poor to supply 
much, and it was very difficult to borrow funds abroad, 
because it was quite evident that if the Americans were 
beaten their debts would never be paid. 

Already in 1777 Congress began to issue paper money. 
Of course it had no real value of its own, like gold or silver, 
but was merely a promise that Congress would some day 
give the bearer the amount it called for in real money. 
As everybody knew that Congress did not have, and 
therefore could not give, gold or silver in exchange for 
these " continental bills," no one liked to take them in pay- 
ment for food or clothing. 

To make matters worse, the British printed ever so many 
bills just like those issued by Congress, and paper money 
soon became so nearly worthless as to give rise to the 
expression still used, " Not worth a continental." By this 
time there was two hundred millions' worth of this money 
in circulation, and people gave one hundred and fifty 
dollars in bills for a bushel of corn, and several thousand 
for a suit of clothes, when they had no silver or gold. 

Many times during the Revolutionary War the soldiers, 
knowing their families were starving, clamored loudly for 
their money. As it was not paid to them, some of them 



303 

rebelled, and it took all their love for Washington — the 
only person whom they really trusted — to hold the army 
together. Still, these soldiers were faithful to their coun- 
try ; for when British spies once came among them, offering 
gold if they would only desert, they nobly gave these spies 
up to their officers, saying that, while they wanted their 
dues, they w^ere not traitors. 

The British not only tried to win over the men, but also 
attempted to bribe American officers and statesmen. But 
they failed in this, too ; and when they approached Joseph 
Reed, he proudly said: "I am not worth purchasing; 
but such as I am, the King of Great Britain is not rich 
enough to buy me." 

Washington always supplied the needs of his men as far 
as he could ; but as he had been away from Mount Vernon 
several years now, his fortune was much smaller than it had 
been, and as time went on he had less and less ready 
money. In despair at his men's sufferings, he wrote again 
and again to Congress. Finally he warned Robert Morris, 
who had charge of money matters, that it would be im- 
possible to keep the army together if food, money, and 
clothing were not forthcoming right away. 

This appeal proved successful. Morris not only gave all 
the money he had, but, going from door to door, begged 
from all his friends for the safety of the country. The 
Philadelphians nobly answered his appeal, and on New 
Year's Day Washington could gladden the soldiers' hearts 
by giving them food and money. Shortly after, the Phila- 
delphia ladies, wishing to help also, sent him twenty-two 
thousand shirts, which they had made for the almost naked 
soldiers, who were glad toget intow^arm and whole garments. 



304 



LXXIX. THE SPY. 



YOU may remember that Benedict Arnold marched 
gallantly through the Maine woods to attack Que- 
bec, and was wounded there in the beginning of the 
war. After his recovery he showed his courage in many 
ways. For instance, he was once surrounded by Tories, who 
killed his horse. While Arnold was trying to release his 
foot from the stirrup, one of his foes rushed toward him, 
crying, "Surrender!" "Not yet," answered Arnold, 
and, drawing his pistol, he shot the Tory, jumped up, and 
ran into the woods near by. There, finding another 
horse, he quickly mounted, and came back to take part in- 
the fight once more. 

You remember, too, how he won the victory of Still- 
water, with Morgan and Schuyler, while Gates was linger- 
ing idly in his tent. On this occasion, however, Arnold 
was again badly wounded. As he lay upon the ground, 
helpless, one of the enemy, who had fought with great 
valor and had fallen only a moment before him, slowly 
raised himself, and, in spite of a bad wound, tried to get at 
Arnold to kill him. Just then a friend of Arnold's came 
up, and was about to slay the soldier, when Arnold stopped 
him by crying: " For God's sake, don't hurt him; he is a 
fine fellow! " 

Although Arnold could thus show himself both brave 
and forgiving, he had one great fault, his vanity. While 
recovering from his wound, in Philadelphia, he got into 
bad company, ran into debt, and behaved in such a way 
that Congress bade Washington reprove him publicly for 



305 



his conduct. Washington did so as gently as he could, 
and some time later, when Arnold asked him for the com- 
mand at West Point, he gladly granted this request ; for 
he knew that Arnold was brave, and thought he had 
been treated rather unfairly. But no sooner had Arnold 
secured this important place than, forgetting his duty to 
his country and his honor as a man, he determined to 
avenge his wrongs by giving up the fort to the British 
(1780). He therefore began a secret correspondence with 
General Clinton, and finally arranged to meet a British 
officer, so as to settle the particulars of the affair with 
him. 

True to the appointment. Major John Andre came up 
the Hudson in an English vessel, the Vtilticre. Landing at 
night, he met Arnold as agreed ; but their talk lasted until 
morning, and the ship, being then discovered by the 
Americans, was fired upon. It therefore dropped down 
the river. Seeing that he could not join it without run- 
ning too great a risk of discovery, Andre now got a pass 
from Arnold. He then crossed the Hudson, and set out 
for New York on horseback, reaching Tar'ry-town in 
safety, although travelers were then often stopped by 
parties of " Skinners " or " Cowboys," as marauding Brit- 
ish and American troops were generally called. Andre was 
just beginning to think that all danger of capture was over, 
when three men suddenly sprang out of the bushes, seized 
his horse, and forced him to dismount. 

Although Andre offered his horse, his watch, and a 
large sum of money to these three men if they would only 
let him go, they held him fast and began searching him. 
At first they found nothing suspicious; but in his boots 



3o6 



they finally discovered plans of* the fort at West Point, 
and other important papers. 

Sure that they held a spy, Paulding, Williams, and Van 
Wart now sent word to Arnold to look out, for they had 
caught a spy, and then 
they took Andre to White 
Plains. Arnold was at 
breakfast when the notice 




Andre and his Captors. 



of Andre's capture reached him. Rising from the table, he 
hurriedly explained matters to his fainting wife, kissed his 
child good-by, and, mounting his horse, galloped wildly off 
to the river. There he found his boat, as usual, and was 



rowed off to the Vulture. The British, who had watched 
his approach, received him in grim silence ; for while they 
would have been glad to take advantage of his baseness, 
they all despised him as a traitor. 

Washington, then on his way to West Point, received 
the news of Andre's arrest too late to seize Arnold, 
although he tried very hard to do so. Still, he did not 
forget that Arnold's wife was innocent. Pitying her 
evident suffering, he soon sent her word that her husband 
had escaped, and said that she would be allowed to join 
him in New York. 

The news of Arnold's treachery, which wrung tears from 
Washington, and made him exclaim, " Whom can we trust 
now?" filled the whole country with dismay. People 
were horror-struck ; but while all hated Arnold, many 
were almost as excited over the capture and probable 
fate of Andre. An artist, writer, and soldier, this young 
man had many admirers ; but as he had played the part of 
a spy, and had been captured in disguise within the Ameri- 
can lines, most people thought he deserved to be hanged. 

Still, it was felt that Arnold, the traitor, was the one 
who merited that death most, so when the British pro- 
tested that Andre should not be hanged, the Americans 
offered to exchange him for Arnold, thinking that if they 
could only make an example of the real culprit it would 
prevent similar cases in the future. 

But, much as the British despised Arnold, they could 
not, of course, give him up. Andre's trial, therefore, went 
on, and the jury condemned him to death as a spy. Instead 
of treating him as the British had treated Hale, however, 
the Americans allowed him to write to his friends and 



3o8 

prepare for death. When he was ready, Andre paid 
the penalty of his wrongdoing by being hanged. Still, 
people have always felt sorry for him, and the British, 
who would have gained greatly by his spying, declared 
that he had fallen a martyr. They therefore gave him a 
place in Westminster Abbey, where many of their great- 
est men are buried. Besides, two monuments have been 
erected for him in our country, at Tarrytown and Tap'pan, 
thus marking the places where he was captured and 
hanged. 

But, although Andre was hanged, his sufferings were 
slight and merciful compared with those of Arnolds This 
was just ; for, while the former had tried to serve his coun- 
try, the latter had betrayed his trust, and it was natural 
that his conscience should trouble him night and day. 
Although the British, as they had promised, gave him a 
large sum of money and a place in their army, none of 
their officers ever treated him as a friend. 

We are told that Washington, still anxious to secure 
and punish Arnold for the country's sake, made a plan 
to seize him shortly after his escape. An officer named 
Campe deserted the American army, by Washington's 
orders, and — narrowly escaping recapture by his com- 
rades, who were not in the secret — swam out to a British 
vessel anchored in New York Bay. The enemy, having 
breathlessly watched his escape from his pursuers, welcomed 
him warmly, and, without asking any questions, allowed 
him to enlist in Arnold's new regiment. 

Campe intended, with the help of two other patriots, 
to seize and gag Arnold when he was walking alone in his 
garden, as he did every night. Thence they meant to 



309 



convey him to a boat, row him secretly across the river, 
and hand him over to one of Washington's most devoted 
officers, Henry Lee, who was called "Light-Horse Harry," 
to distinguish him from the Lee who disgraced himself at 
Monmouth. 

Unfortunately, on the very night when Campe's plan 
was to have been carried out, Arnold took his regiment 
on board a vessel in the bay, and sailed south to fight for 
the British in Virginia. There poor Campe had to wait 
for months before he got a chance to desert Arnold and 
rejoin his countrymen. Until then all his fellow-soldiers 
had believed him a real deserter; but after welcoming him 
cordially, Washington and Lee publicly told the others 
how nobly Campe had tried to serve his country, and 
how nearly he had secured the traitor. 

While fighting in the South, we are told, Arnold 
once asked one of his prisoners, " What do you suppose 
my fate would be if my misguided countrymen were to 
take me prisoner?" The man, who was a good Ameri- 
can, promptly answered : " They would cut off the leg 
that was wounded at Quebec and Saratoga, and bury it 
with the honors of war; but the rest of you they would 
hang on a gibbet." 

LXXX. A TRAITOR'S DEATH. 

BEFORE continuing the story of the Revolutionary 
War, it is well to finish this painful story of a traitor. 
After fighting against his country in Virginia, and burning 
many houses and villages there, Arnold was sent into 



3IO 

Connecticut, where he set fire tt) New London, watching 
the flames from the church tower. But soon after this 
Arnold went to London, where he spent most of the rest 
of his Hfe, with few friends. 

We are told that no one respected him there, and once, 
when he went into Parliament to hear the speeches, a mem- 
ber pointed right at him, saying : " Mr. Speaker, I will 
not speak while that man is in the house." Another time 
Arnold was introduced to a British officer who had fought 
against him at Saratoga. But, while this man had then 
admired him for his courage, and would have been proud 
to know him, he now refused to shake hands with him, 
curtly saying that he could not endure traitors. 

A gentleman who did not know Arnold's story once 
asked him for letters of introduction to his friends, saying 
he was about to sail for America. But the traitor sadly 
answered: " I was born in America; I lived there to the 
prime of my life; but, alas! I can call no man in America 
my friend." In fact, even his children were so ashamed 
of what he had done that two of his sons changed their 
name as soon as they grew up. 

After living thus twenty years, bereft of his own as 
well as public respect, Arnold on his deathbed begged 
for the epaulets and sword-knot which Washington had 
once given him, and cried : " Let me die in my old Ameri- 
can uniform, in which I fought my battles. God forgive 
me for ever having put on any other!" 

Arnold was buried in England. While his victories are 
honored in America, his treachery has made his name so 
disliked that it is always coupled with the words ** the 
traitor." The battles of Saratoga, where he, Schuyler, 



311 

and Morgan really won the victories attributed to Gates, 
are kept in mind by history and by the beautiful monu- 
ment at Saratoga. There you can see four niches. Three 
are occupied by statues of Gates, Schuyler, and Morgan ; 
but the fourth — which was to contain a statue of Arnold- 
must always remain empty ! 

The sadness which filled all patriot hearts in the coun- 
try at the news of Arnold's treason was, however, soon 
made more bearable by the welcome tidings of a victory 
in the South— the battle of Kings Mountain (1780). 



m^^- 




Battle of Kines Mountain. 



More than a thousand of the British troops took up their 
position on the top of this mountain, and their leader then 
cried : '* Well, boys, here is a place from which all the rebels 
outside of hell cannot drive us ! " Still, a smaller number of 
patriots climbed up by three different paths, and, hiding 



STO, OF THIR. COL. —20 



312 

behind rocks and trees, killed Tnany of the British, and 
took the rest prisoners. 

General Greene, taking command of the American 
forces in the South after Gates's defeat at Camden, found 
himself at the head of a ragged and almost famished army. 
But stout hearts beat beneath tattered garments, and the 
forces under Morgan soon after won a great victory at 
Cowpens (1781). 

The cruel Tarleton was in command on this occasion, 
and during the battle he was wounded by Colonel William 
Washington, a distant relative of the general in chief. In 
speaking of the battle afterwards, Tarleton scornfully re- 
marked to an American lady that Colonel Washington 
was so ignorant a man that he could not even write his 
own name. As people who could not write in those days 
were in the habit of making a rough mark instead of sign- 
ing their names, the lady archly ' said, pointing to his 
wound: "Ah, colonel, you bear evidence that he can at 
least make his mark!" When Tarleton later added that 
he wondered what Colonel Washington looked like, the 
same lady slyly said : *' Had you only looked behind you 
at Cowpens, you might have had that pleasure." 



3><KC 



LXXXI. TWO UNSELFISH WOMEN. 

WHEN the battle of Cowpens was over, and the few 
remnants of Tarleton's force had fled to join Corn- 
wallis, the latter marched forward, hoping to catch up 
with Morgan's army and crush it with his superior 



313 

force before it could join Greene's forces. Both armies 
were therefore anxious to reach the ford over the Ca-taw'ba 
first, and tramped ahead as fast as possible, stopping to 
rest only when the men were completely exhausted. But, 
in spite of the great odds against him, Morgan finally man- 
aged to give Cornwallis the slip, and, crossing at the ford, 
was soon joined by Greene. The two generals continued 
the retreat, cleverly tempting CornwaUis to follow, until 
finally the whole American army was safe beyond the Dan 
River in Virginia. 

We are told that it was during this race for the Dan that 
Greene once stopped at the house of a patriot Southern 
lady, Mrs. Steele. She quickly supphed him with warm 
garments and food, and hearing him say he could not pay 
her because he was penniless, she brought him all her sav- 
ings, which she forced him to accept and use for the sake 
of his country. 

It seems also that in the course of this campaign the 
Americans laid siege to a house which served as a fort 
for British soldiers. Although Light- Horse Harry Lee 
was very anxious to secure these men, he soon found that 
he could not drive them out of the house. He therefore 
asked Mrs. Motte, owner of the place, whether she would 
allow him to set fire to it, to force the British out. 

She not only consented to this, — although the house 
was all she had, — but brought Lee an Indian bow and 
arrows, so that he could shoot bits of flaming wood upon 
the shingled roof. The house was thus soon in flames, 
and the British, seeing they would be roasted alive if they 
staid in it, and shot if they tried to escape, promptly sur- 
rendered. Then the fire was put out, and as it had not 



314 

yet gained much headway, Mi^. Motte did not, after all, 
lose the house which she had been willing to sacrifice for 
the sake of her country. 

As was the case all through the Southern campaign, 
the British were very cruel ; still, a few patriots managed 
to escape from their clutches. For example, one of 
Tarleton's men once ordered a prisoner to give him the 
silver buckles he wore. The man proudly bade the Eng- 
lishman take them if he wanted them. Knowing that he 
would be slain if he did not escape, the American killed 
the man kneeling before him, and, jumping oh a riderless 
horse, dashed away. Before any of the four hundred men 
around there thought of pursuing him, he was out of reach. 

As soon as his men had rested a little from their fatigues, 
Greene again led them against the British, whom he met 
at Guirford Courthouse in North CaroHna. Here, although 
the Americans behaved with great valor, the British won 
the victory. But it was at the cost of so many lives that 
when Fox, a British statesman, heard of it, he sadly ex- 
claimed : ''Another such victory would ruin us!" 

The site of the old Revolutionary battlefield at Guilford 
Courthouse is now a beautiful park. Here are many in- 
teresting statues, and in the museum, among other curi- 
osities, you can see British and American flags peacefully 
crossed, showing that after the war was over the two 
parties generously forgot the past and were ready to meet 
as friends. 

After the battle of Guilford Courthouse, CornwalHs re- 
treated to the coast, and Greene turned his attention to 
the British forces farther south, with which he fought the 
battles of Hobkirk Hill and Eu'taw Springs. In the 



315 

latter engagement, Marion, surrounded by the foe, en- 
couraged his brave men by saying: "Hold up your 
heads, boys! Three fires, three cheers, and a charge, 
and you are free!" During the same engagement one of 
Lee's men found himself alone and without arms in the 
midst of the enemy. With great presence of mind, he 
seized an officer, wrenched his sword out of his hand, and, 
using him as a shield, fought his way back to his friends. 
Though Greene was often defeated and never won a 
great victory, the British loudly complained that he never 
knew when he was beaten. But while Greene modestly 
described his own doings as, " We fight, get beat, rise and 
fight again," he and his two thousand men were little by 
little driving the British out of South Carolina. Indeed, by 
their brave efforts the Americans finally recovered both 
South Carolina and Georgia, with the exception of the 
cities of Charleston and Savannah. 



3>^< 



LXXXII. THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS. 

RETREATING from the Carolinas, Cornwallis marched 
into Virginia to take the place of Arnold, whom 
the British had been watching closely, lest he should 
betray them, too. Clinton now bade Cornwallis keep 
near the coast, so that he could embark quickly and 
come to the rescue of New York, in case Washington 
should suddenly attack it. 

The fact was, though, that Washington had no intention 
of doing anything of the sort. On the contrary, he had 



316 

laid his plans to catch CornwSllis in Virginia, where he 
had sent Lafayette some time before. As he did not wish 
Clinton to suspect this plan, Washington wrote letters 
saying he meant to take New York, and cleverly con- 
trived that they should accidentally fall into British hands. 
After reading them, Clinton felt so sure he knew all about 
the American plans that he did not stir. 

There was no telegraph in those days, and it was a great 
surprise to Cornwallis when the French fleet, under De 
Grasse (grahss) suddenly appeared in Chesapeake Bay. 
Thus, even before Clinton suspected the Americans' in- 
tentions, Cornwallis was hemmed in at Yorktown between 
Lafayette's troops and De Grasse's fleet, and Washington 
was rapidly marching southward to help them. 

Hoping to check Washington's advance, or even force 
him to come back, Clinton now sent Arnold into Connect- 
icut, where, as we have seen, he burned New London. 
This base deed so angered a lady whose guest he had once 
been, that she tried to shoot him, we are told, and would 
have done so, had not her gun missed fire. 

Arnold, and the British officers with him, proved very 
cruel all through this campaign ; and when one of them 
seized Fort Griswold, near New London, he haughtily 
demanded, "Who commands here?" "I did," courte- 
ously answered the American officer, coming forward to 
surrender his sword, "but you do now." The British 
officer took the weapon, ran it through its owner, and 
coolly bade his men kill all the garrison in the same way. 

Although the news of pillage, burning, and murder was 
carried to Washington as quickly as possible, he did not — 
as Clinton perhaps expected — turn around to defend Con- 



317 

necticut, but kept steadily on. As he marched by, 
all good Americans wildly cheered him, crying: "Long 
live Washington ! He is going to catch Cornwallis in his 
mouse trap!" Indeed, such was the faith people had in 
him that an old patriot, coming into the room where he 
was dining, raised his arms to heaven and solemnly cried, 
like Simeon in the Bible: ''Lord, now lettest thou thy 
servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy sal- 
vation." 

On his way to Yorktown, Washington paid a flying visit 
to his home at Mount Vernon, which he had not seen since 
he left it to attend the Continental Congress six years 
before. There he learned that it would have been burned 
to the ground, had not his steward bribed some British 
soldiers to let it stand. When Washington heard this, he 
gravely said that he would rather lose all he had, than 
save it by making friends with his country's foes. 

Reaching Yorktown, — where Cornwallis had once boasted 
that he would soon capture " that boy," as he scornfully 
termed Lafayette, — Washington found all his orders so 
well carried out that the bombarding of the city could 
begin without further delay. The French fleet and 
American army worked together to such good purpose 
that before long it became plain that Cornwallis would 
have to yield. During this siege a gentleman carefully 
pointed out his own house, advising Washington to batter 
it down first with his cannon ; for he thought that Corn- 
wallis must have selected it for his headquarters, because 
it was the best in town. 

Washington, who was never wounded in any battle, 
stood on a height directing the movements of his troops. 



318 

He was in such an exposed pl5ce that some of his aids, 
hoping to make him change his position, ventured to 
remark that they were in great danger. " If you think 
so," answered Washington, quietly, " you are at Hberty to 
step back." But as he did not move, the others bravely 
stood their ground. 

A moment later a ball struck a cannon only a few feet 
off, and General Knox impulsively cried, ** My dear gen- 
eral, we can't spare you yet! " and tried to drag him away. 
But Washington carelessly remarked, " It 's a spent ball," 
and stood there like a rock until he saw the redoubt taken. 
Then he joyfully exclaimed : " The work is done, and well 
done! " 

Washington was right ; the work was done, and the 
patriots' troubles nearly over. Cornwallis, finding himself 
unable to escape or receive help, was forced to surrender 
on the 19th of October, 1781. But his pride was so 
hurt at having to give up his sword, that he pretended 
illness, and sent one of his officers to carry it to Washing- 
ton. The latter, remembering how the British had tried 
to shame General Lincoln at the surrender of Charleston, 
therefore bade the British officer deliver it to Lincoln. 

The next day, when the British troops marched out of 
Yorktown between the French and American armies, 
their bands dolefully played : " The World Turned Upside 
Down." Washington, ever considerate of people's feel- 
ings, had given strict orders that his soldiers should not 
jeer at th^ enemy, or make any unkind remarks. This 
order was obeyed, but Lafayette, seeing that the British 
— who had made such unmerciful fun of him — did not 
even look up, suddenly bade his band strike up " Yankee 



319 




The Surrender of Cornwallis. 

Doodle." At this hated sound the British all started, and 
Lafayette had the boyish satisfaction of knowing that 
they had seen him heading part of the forces which had 
conquered them. 



LXXXIII. THE BRITISH FLAG HAULED 
DOWN. 



THE news of the surrender of Cornwallis filled all 
American hearts with joy; for our people knew, as 
well as the British, that the war was now ended. The 
tidings reached Philadelphia at night, w^hile the watchman, 
making his rounds as usual, was passing up and down the 



320 



streets. To the customary announcement of the time, 
and the cry, " All's well," he therefore added, " and Corn- 
wallis is taken! " 

The joy of this event proved fatal to the old door- 
keeper of Congress, while on all sides bells were rung and 
loud cheers were heard. On the next day the members 
of Congress marched in a body to church, to return thanks 
for the ** victory of a great and good man in a great and 
good cause." But when the news reached England it 
caused great dismay. We are told that Lord North fell 
back as if struck by a cannon ball, and gasped : ** O God, 
it is all over! " 

Although the War of Independence was really over, and 




Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh. 



321 

several Americans went to Europe to settle the terms of 
peace, British troops staid in America some time longer, and 
kept possession of Savannah and Charleston about a year. 
Washington, therefore, did not dare dismiss his army. To 
keep better guard over the Bridsh at New York, he collected 
all his forces at Newburgh. But although there was no more 
fighting, Washington's presence was more sorely needed 
than ever, for the men, having received only a small part 
of their long-promised pay, and unable to go home and work 
for their destitute families, were restless and discontented. 
In fact, even the officers thought Congress managed things 
badly, and wished to make Washington king. 

Had Washington thought of himself more than of others, 
or been unduly ambitious, he could now have gone, at the 
head of the army, to overthrow Congress and take the 
power into his own hands, like Caesar and Napoleon. But 
Washington was a real patriot, and had no thought be- 
yond the good of his country. He therefore sent for his 
officers, and made them a little speech. 

In reading a letter from a congressman, promising that 
they should receive their dues, he had to take out his 
glasses, and as he put them on he quietly begged them 
to excuse him, saying: " My eyes have grown dim in the 
service of my country, but I have never doubted her 
justice." In his address he urged them not to tarnish the 
glory of their past services by rash conduct, and explained 
that Congress would soon settle their just demands. Such 
was the reliance placed upon his mere word, and the good 
influence he had over every man in his army, that all now 
consented to u^ait patiently until their services could receive 
their reward. 



322 



While Washington was thus, keeping the soldiers in 
order, Franklin was in Europe, treating for peace. In 
1782 George III. formally announced that he would 
recognize the independence of the United States, and 
closed his speech by saying he hoped that the same " reli- 
gion, language, interests, and affections might prove a bond 
of permanent union between the two countries." 

The treaty, however, was signed in Paris, on the 3d 
of September, 1783. On this occasion Franklin donned 




L ^ RESULTS OF THE **' ^ * ^/o 

^ f WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE^ ^ ( %' 

BOUNDARY DEFINED BY TREATY 1783, V' — 



the suit of Manchester velvet clothes which he had worn ten 
years before, when insulted in Parliament, and which he 
had vowed never to use again until his country was free. 
By this treaty the seacoast from Maine to Georgia was 
given up to the United States, together with all the land 
between the Great Lakes and Florida, westward as far 
as the Mississippi. At the same time, the British gave 
Florida back to Spain. 

The news of this treaty was followed by the departure 
of the British soldiers from New York. They sailed 
away, leaving their flag still floating from the top of the 
liberty pole. Here some soldiers had nailed it fast, care- 
fully greasing the pole so that the Americans should not 
haul down their colors until they were at least out of sight. 

But a clever New York boy, seeing that it was useless 
to try to climb the greased pole in the usual way, ran 
into a neighboring store, and soon came back with a pocket 
full of nails, some cleats, and a hammer. Nailing a cleat a 
short distance up, he stood upon it to nail another still 
higher, and, climbing thus from point to point, reached 
the top of the pole, tore off the British flag, and replaced 
it by the American colors, amid the cheers of the as- 
sembled people! 

LXXXIV. WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL. 

WASHINGTON had already disbanded his army in 
Newburgh, when, on the eighth anniversary of the 
battle of Lexington, the war was formally declared to be 
over. Now, the British having gone, it remained only to 



324 

bid farewell to his officers. On this occasion he said : 
** With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave 
of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may 
be as prosperous as your former have been glorious and 
honorable. I cannot come to each of you to take my 
leave, but I shall be obliged to you if each of you will 
come and take me by the hand." 

General Knox was the first to advance, and Washington 
drew him toward him and kissed him. He also embraced 
all the rest — in dead silence, for all hearts were too full for 
speech. The officers then followed him to the boat and 
silently watched him out of sight. From New York, 
where this parting took place, Washington went direct to 
Annapolis, where, on the 23d of December, 1783, he 
received the formal message: "The United States, in 
Congress assembled, is prepared to receive the communi- 
cations of the commander in chief." Washington then 
appeared before that body to lay down the heavy charge 
which he had borne so bravely for nearly eight years. He 
again refused to accept any reward for his services, but 
handed over the exact account of his expenses, proving 
that he had spent more than sixty-three thousand dollars 
of his own money for the good of his country. 

Then he went back to his farm at Mount Vernon, to 
take up again his usual work. He had been longing to do 
this for some time, for farming was his chief pleasure. 
Knowing this, his officers formed a society of which they 
made him head. They called themselves the Cincin- 
na'ti, in honor of a Roman patriot, Cincinnatus, who 
left his plow to save his country from danger, but hurried 
back to it as soon as the war was over. 



325 




The Mount Vernon House, South Front. 



Instead of other pay, many of these officers and of the 
continental soldiers now received grants of land in what 
was then called the Northwest Territory. There they 
soon settled, working hard, and serving their country just 
as nobly by being good farmers, good citizens, good hus- 
bands, and good fathers as they had done by being good 
soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Before long, towns 
sprang up in the wilderness, and one of them was named 
Cincinnati, in honor of the society of which Washington 
was the first president. 

But there were others besides the soldiers who were 
anxious to get back to their families. Foremost among 
these was the worthy Franklin, who had spent nearly nine 
years in France, looking after the interests of his country. 
He had seen the Peace of Paris signed ; and when he 
reached Philadelphia, just sixty-two years after his first 



326 

visit, he was welcomed with louti cheers and great rejoic- 
ings. He deserved all the cheering and honors he re- 
ceived, for he had been second only to Washington in the 
services he had rendered his beloved country. 

As it was now decided beyond doubt that the former 
colonies were to be free states, independent of Great 
Britain, the Story of the Thirteen Colonies is ended. 
There is still to be told the Story of the Great Republic 
which was formed from these colonies, and which has 
grown to be one of the foremost nations in the world. 



INDEX. 



Key to pronunciation.— Vowels : a in late, a in fat, a in care, a in far, a in last, a in 
fall, a in was, au in autlK^r ; e in me, 6 in met, e in veil, e in tgrm ; i in fine, I in tin, i in 
police, 1 in fir ; o in note, 5 in n5t, 6 in son, 6 in for, o in wolf, o in do, oo in loop ; u in 
tune, a in ntlt, u in rude, vi in full, U = French u ; y in my, y in hymn. Consonants : 9 
in (jent, € in €an ; g in gem, g in get ; n = ny in barnyard, n = ng, N = ng, but is silent ; 
qu=:kw ; §=z; th = th in then. Italic letters are silent. 



PAGE 

A'bra-ham, Plains of, "Wolfe victorious 
at 212 

A-ca'di-a, claimed by Cartier . . .174 
conquered by New Englanders . . 188 

farmers driven out of 209 

French settlement in . . . . 102, 105 
name changed to Nova Scotia . . . 188 

A' co-ma, "Sky City" 68 

besieged by Spaniards .... 77-79 

Coronado visits 68 

Onate visits .76 

Adams, John, draws up Declaration 
of Independence 250 

Adams, Samuel, advice of . . . 226, 227 

at Lexington 229, 234 

called " Father of Eevolution " . . 229 
proposes Washington as general of 

army 238 

quoted 259 

Af'ri-ca, explored . . 36 

inhabitants of 14 

Vasco da Gama sails around ... 61 

Aix-la-Qha-pelZe', treaty of .... 190 

Al-a-ba'ma, De Soto visits 68 

A-ias'ka, inhabited by Indians ... 14 

Al'ba-ny, Congress at ... . 199, 206 

Fort Orange built near 105 

Hudson at 103 

refuses to obey Leisler 170 

trading stations near 104 

Al-ex-an'der, son of Massasoit . 137, 138 

Al-g5n'qum Indians, aided by Cham- 
plain 175 

A17e-gAa-nie§, claimed by France . . 181 
Governor Spotswood explores . . .162 

A17e-g7ie-ny River, French forts on . 196 



PAGE 

Al'len, Ethan, takes Fort Ticondero- 

ga o 237,243 

A-m6r'i-ca, civilization of 24 

known as New World , . . .13, 61, 62 

named 61 

Northmen in 27 

A-m6r'i-cus Ves-pu'cius (shds), Aniei'- 

ica named for 61 

An'dr^ (dra). Major John, meets Ar- 
nold 305 

punishment of 307, 308 

An'dros, governor of New England 

and New York 167 

An'gli-can Church, Henry VIII. head of, 106 

Anglicans leave England 134 

An-nap'o-lis, English settlement at . 152 
first French settlement at . . . .174 

Port Royal called 188 

Ar'galZ, Captain, captures Pocahontas, 98 

Ar-i-zo'na, Indians in „ 20 

Ar'kan-sas River, Marquette and Joliet 

at 179 

Ar'ling-ton, Lord, Virginia granted to, 156 
Ar'nold, Benedict, attempt to capture, 308 

bravery of 304 

defeated at Valcour Island .... 252 

disgrace of 310 

granted command at West Point . 305 

leads army to Quebec 246 

relieves Fort Stanwix 268 

reproved by Washington .... 305 

takes Fort Ticondeioga 237 

treason of 305-307 

victorious at Saratoga 271 

Asia (a'shi-a), inhabitants of .... 14 
As-s6m'bly, in colonial government . 125 



327 



328 



/ 



PAGE 

At-lau'tic 6'cean (-shan), called sea of 
darkness 31, 40 

coast of, explored 25 

Au-gtis'ta, British conquer . . .297 
A-zore§' Islands, Columbus at ... 51 

Portuguese colony on 36 

Ba'con's Re-bel'lion 158-160 

Ba-ha'ma§, discovered 47 

Bal-bo'a, discovers Pacific Ocean . . 61 

voyage of 62, 63 

Bal'ti-niore, Congre s withdraws to. . 259 

founded o . . - 153 

Baltimore, Lord, settles in ilaryland . 152 
Bar-ge-lo'na, Columbus goes to . . . 52 
Bar-tbOl'o-mew Columbus . . . . 40, 56 

Bar'ton, American officer 258 

" Battle of the Kegs " 265 

"Bay'ard of the South," Marion called . 300 
Bea'con Hill, signal fires on ... . 140 

Be'mis Heights, battle of 269 

Ben'ning-ton, Gen. Starlv victorious at, 266 

Berke'ley, cruelty of 160 

flees from Jamestown . . . 158, 159 

governor of Virginia 155 

recalled to England .... 156, 160 

Biar'ni, voyage of 27, 28 

Bible, trjinslated into Indian language, 126 
Bienville (be-aN-veel'), builils fort at 

New Orleans 183 

Bil'ling-ton, English colonist .... 112 

Indians rescue 118 

Bil-ox'i, built by Iberville 182 

Bir'ming-ham (-urn), denied right to 

vote 219 

Black'beard, a Carolina pirate . . .164 
Black'stone, settles in New Eng- 
land 122-124 

Bles' sing of the Bay, lumher shii) . . 127 
Block Island, Indian stronghold. . .132 

Bloody Brook, battle of 140 

Bloody massacre 225 

Blue Ridge Moun'tains, Spotswood ex- 
plores 161 

Bonhomme Richard (b6-n0m're-shar'), 

Paul .Tones's vessel 294 

sinks 296 

Boon*', Daniel, adventures of . . 291-293 

settles at Boonesboro .... 288, 289 

Boones'bor-o, Boone settles at . 288, 289 

Indians attack .... 289, 290, 292 

Bos'ton, Andros imprisoned in . . . 168 

British shut up in 244, 245 

British soldiers removed from . . . 226 

evacuated 247 

fortified by British 239 



I Boston, founded 130 

Gen. Gage sent to 224 

laws to punish 228, 229 

settlement in 124 

Boston massacre 225 

Boston Neck fortified 232 

j Boston Tea Party 227 

] Bow'er-y Lane, Stuyvesant's farm on . 144 

I B6?(;'ling Green 223 

Boyl'ston, introduces vaccination . . 173 

Brad'dock, death of 208 

defeat of 207 

general of British army 206 

Brad'ford, William, governor of Plym- 
outh 115 

Indian message to 118 

Bran'dy-wine, battle of 264 

Brant, Indian chief routed at Oriskany, 267 
Breeds Hill, American victory at . 239, 240 

Bret'on, Cape, named 71 

Bret'on (brlt-) fishermen, prosperity of, 71 

Brews'ter, Elder, Pilgrim leader . 108, 116 

Brit'ish, at Bunker Hill .... 239, 240 

attempt to bribe American officers . 303 

burn I'alniouth 246 

burn New London 316 

conquer Georgia 297 

cruelty of 299 

defeated at Cowpens 312 

defeated at Flamborough Head, 295, 296 
fail to seize Hudson valley . . . 297 

hire Indians 266, 286 

in New York 252 

leave Boston 247 

leave Philadelphia . 277 

plan new campaign 297 

quartered in Boston .... 224, 225 
quartered in Philadelpliia .... 275 

retreat at Concord 235 

^settlements. See under English. 

shut up in Boston 244, 245 

surrender at Saratoga .... 270, 271 

surrender at Yorktown 318 

surrender Ticonderoi:a 237 

take Savannah ....„,.. 297 
under Clinton, bombard Fort 

Moultrie 247 

under Cornwall is pursue Washington, 257 
victorious at Brandy wine .... 264 

victorious at Camden 299 

victorious at Guilford Courthouse . 314 

Brook, land granted to 130 

Brooklyn 'B.elgMs,, Americans in- 
trenched in 254 

Bru'tus 221 

[ Ban'ker Hill, battle of ... . 239-241 



329 



Bur'ges-ses, House of . 101, 154, 156, 211 
Bur-goyiie', British general .... 239 

cut off from Canada 267 

defeated at Stillwater 269 

surrender of 270, 271 

takes Forts Ticonderoga and Edward, 265 

Burke, opposes Stamp Act 22.3 

speech of 286 

Bur'ling-ton, settlement near . . . 146 
Bilt'ler, in Wyoming Valley murders . 286 

Cabeza de Va'ea (cah-ba'sah), explora- 
tions of 67 

Cab'ot, John, explorations of ... 60 

g«e'§ar 221, 231 

Cai'i-ciit, Vasco da Gama reaches . . 61 
Cal-I-f6r'ni-a, Gulf of, explored ... 67 

Cai'u-mgt, pipe of peace 114 

Cam'bridge,, college at 125 

Committee of Safety at 232 

Washington's headquarters at . 242, 246 
Cambridge Elm, Washington takes 

command under 242 

C&m'den, Gates defeated at .... 299 
Campc, plans to capture Arnold, 308, 309 
Can'«a-da, Americans driven out of . . 246 

ceded to Great Britain 213 

explored by Cartier 70-73 

French driven into 211 

Frontenac governor of 184 

named by Cartier 174 

smuggling by way of 216 

Ca-na'di-ans, under Carleton march 

southward 246 

Ca-na'ry Islands, Columbus at , . 44, 45 

discovered 36 

Ca-nOn'i-cus, Narragansett chief . . 118 
Cape Brgt'on Island, French fort on . 189 

named . 71, 174 

Cape Charles, named 87 

Cape Cod, Cabot explores 60 

named by Gosnold 86 

Northmen at 28 

Pilgrims at 109, 111 

Cape Hat'ter-as, explored by Cabot . 60 

Cape Henry named 87 

Cape Horn, Indians at 14 

Cape of Good Hope, discovered ... 42 
Cape of Storms, discovered .... 42 
Cape St. VIn'gent, sea fight at ... 37 
Cape Verde Islands, Columbus sails 

from 56 

Portuguese at 36 

Car'Ibs, inhabitants of West Indies . 54 

Cark'ton, commander of Canadians . 246 

victorious at Valcour Island . . .252 



PAGE 

Car-o-li'na, division of 164 

English settlement in - 162 

French settlement in 74 

granted to lords proprietors . . .162 
Carolina, North, English colo!iy at . 85 

explored 71 

pirates 164 

Car'pen-ter's Hall, First Continental 

Congress at 229 

Car'roll, Charles, signs Declaration of 

Independence 251 

Car-tier' (-tya'), explorations of, 71-73, 174 

Car'ver, John, death of 115 

governor of Pilgrims 110 

makes treaty with Massasoit . 114, 137 
Cas-tile', Isal)ella, queen of .... 59 
Ca-tatf/ba River, Morgan crosses . . 313 

Ca-thay', China called 33 

new road to, sought 35 

" Cav-a-hers! " Royalists called . „ .155 
Cen'tralA-mer'i-ca, explored by Colum- 
bus 58 

Indians in 20 

Spanish colonies in 64 

(^eu'tn. Prince Henry of Portugal visits, 35 
Chadd§ Ford, Washington defeated at, 264 
Qham -plain', discovers Lake Cham- 
plain o 175 

settles at Quebec 174 

voyage of . 184 

Champlain, Lake, discovered .... 175 

Charles. Cape, named 87 

Charles I., beheaded 155 

rebellion in England 134 

Charles II., laud grants of . 142, 147, 167 

recalls Berkeley 160 

restored to throne 136, 156 

revokes Massachusetts Bay colony 

charter 166 

Charles'ton, attacked by Spaniards . 188 

British fleet at 247 

rice planted in 163 

surrender of 2C8 

Charles'town, burned by Howe . . . 242 

Puritans attempt settlement at . . 124 

Char'ter, granted to Connecticut . . 137 

granted to Rhode Island . . . .137 

Great, of Virginia 101 

of Massachusetts Bay colony re- 
voked 166, 229 

Charter Oak, in Hartford 168 

Chfir'ry Val'ley, Indian massacre at . 286 
Chgs'a-pertke Bay, Captain Smith 
makes map of . . , . o . . 92 

De Grasse's fleet at 316 

explored . . . » 87 



STO. OF THIR. COL. 



•21 



330 



PAGE 

Clii-ca'go River, Joliet and Marquette 

explore 179 

Chi'le, Indians in 20 

Chi'na, visited by Europeans ... 33 
ChOc'tawS; plan to attack French set- 
tlers 183 

Church, Captain, defeats King Philip, 142 

Qi'bo-la, seven cities of 67, (J8 

CiQ-cin-na'ti, built 325 

Cincinnati, society founded by Wash- 
ington's oflBcers 324 

Ci-pan'go, Japan called 35 

Clans, Indian 19 

Clark, General George Rogers, march 

of 287, 288 

Cliff dwellings 21 

Clln'ton, Arnold conspires with . . 305 
attacks towns in Connecticut . . . 280 
bombards Fort Moultrie .... 247 

British general 239 

proceeds to New York 279 

pursues Washington 256 

sends Arnold into Connecticut . . 316 

Washington pursues 278 

Cod, Cape .... 60, 78, 86, 109, 111 
Coligny (co-leen'ye), sends Huguenots 

to New World 7;;, 74, 174 

C5riege, Columbia 252 

Harvard 125 

King's, called Columbia 252 

William and Mary 161 

Williams 209 

Yale 125 

Co-loini-al assemblies, dissolved . . 224 
Cdl'o-nies. See Settlements. 

England's treatment of . . . 214-232 
C61-o-ra'd6, Grand Canyon of ... 68 
Co-ltlm'bi'a College, King's College be- 
comes 252 

Co-luni'bfls, Christopher, adventures 

of 37 

asks aid of England ...... 40 

at Cordova - . . 42 

at West Indies 54 

birth of 36 

calls savages Indians 48 

coasts along Cuba 49 

death of 59 

discovers Bahamas 47 

discovers Haiti 50 

discovers Jamaica 55 

education of 37 

establishes colony at Isabella ... 54 

fourth expedition of 58 

Genoese refuse to aid 39 

Isabella and Ferdinand assist . . 43, 44 



• PAGE 

Columbus, Christopher, marriage of . 38 

returns to Spain 51, 56, 59 

search for new road to India ... 38 

second expedition of 53 

taken prisoner 57 

third expedition of 56 

Com-mit'tee of Safety, formed . . . 232 
Com'mon-wealth of England . . 134, 155 

Com'pass, use of 31 

Cdncord, battle of 234, 235 

statue to Mrs. Dustin in 187 

Cdn'gress, appeals to Geoige III. . . 245 

bad management of 321 

First Continental 229 

issues paper money 302 

Second Continental 237 

withdraws to Baltimore 259 

Con-nect'i-cut, charter of . . . 167, 169 

colonies in 130-132 

joins league 134 

New Haven joined to 137 

pillage of British in 316 

Connecticut River, settlement on, 130, 131 
Con-stan-ti-no'ple, besieged by Turks . 33 

capture of 38 

Northmen visit 25 

seat of learning 32 

Con-ti-n6n'tal bills, Congress issues. . 302 
Continental Congress, First .... 229 

Second 237 

COn'way Cabal' 274, 276 

C6r'do-va, Columbus at 42 

Corn-wal'lis, besieged at Yorktown, 316, 317 

marches into Virginia 315 

pursues Washington . . 257, 261, 262 
races for Dan River .... 312, 313 

retreats to coast 314 

surrender of 318 

Co-ro-na'do (-tho), explorations of . . 68 

Cor'tez, takes Mexico 66 

Cot'ton, cultivation of 165 

"Coun'ter-blnst to Tobacco, A" . . 98 
CouT^UTs^ de bois (deh bwa'), wood 

rangers 176 

Cow'boys, marauding troops called . . 305 
Cow'pens, American victory at . . . 312 
"Cra'dle of Lib'er-ty," Faneuil Hall 

called 226 

Cr^ve'eoeur, Fort, built 180 

Croa-tan', village of 85 

Cr6m'well, Oliver, death of ... . 136 

Protector of Commonwealth . 134, 155 

Crown Point, plan to capture . . . 206 

taken 237 

Cu'ba, Colnmbiis coasts along. ... 49 
Spanish colony in 62 



331 



PAGE 

Cai'pgp-per, Lord, Virginia granted to, 156 
Cut'ty-hiink Island. Gosnold at . . . 86 

Dale, governs Jamestown colony . . 97 
Dan River, American army crosses . 313 
Da'ri-en, Isthmus of, settlement on . 63 
Dar'rah, Lydia, anecdote about . . . 276 
Da'vis, discovers northwest passage . 81 
D'Estaing (des-taN'), French fleet un- 
der 298 

De GourgMCs-, attacks Spaniards ... 75 
De Gv'sisse, commander of French fleet, 316 

De Kaib, death of 299 

joins Americans 263 

De M6Nis, French settler 174 

-l^e So'to, death of 69 

"■"^ explorations of 68, 69 

Dec-la-ra'tion of Independence . 248-252 
Declaration of Plights, passed . . . 222 

Deer'field, battle near 140 

Indian raid at 188 

Dal'a-ware, purchased by Penn . 150, 152 
Delaware Bay, Hudson enters . . .103 
Delaware River, Fort Nassau built on, 105 
forts on, taken by Howe .... 264 
Washington crosses .... 259, 260 
Ddlaware Val'ley, owned by Dutch . 143 
Ddlfs-ha'ven, Pilgiims embark at . . 108 

De-ti"oit', Boone at 291 

garrison at, warned 214 

Di-e'go, Columbus's son 40 

Dies'kau (-kow), French ofticer . . . 209 
Din-wid'rfie, governor of Virginia . . 196 

Dix'on and Ma'son line 153 

Dor'ches-ter Heights, fortified . . . 247 
Do'ver, attacked by Indians .... 184 

burned 185 

settled 130 

Drake Francis, voyages of . . . 81, 82 
Duck'ing stool, mode of punishment . 172 

Du'er, loyalty of 274 

Diiquesne (doo-kan'), French governor, 196 
Duijuesne, Fort, abandoned by French, 210 

British defeat at 207, 208 

built 198 

Dus'tin, Hannah, story of . . . 185-187 

Dutcli, build Fort Orange 105 

build trading stations in Connecticut, 131 

explorations of 102, 103 

oppose Connecticut colonists . . .132 

regain New Amsterdam 146 

settlements of 105, 143, 144 

Earth, discovery and shape of ... 32 
East River, Washington crosses . . 254 
E'den. Garden of 67 



PAGE 

Ed' ward, Fort, captured by Burgoyne, 265 
E'gypt 88 

El D6-ra'd6 (" Land of Gold'), search 
for 68 

E-lec-trig'i-ty, discoveries in, by Frank- 
lin 205 

" El'e gy Written in a Country Church- 
yard," Gray's 211 

El'I-ot, John, translates Bible into 

Indian language 126 

E-liz'a-betli, Queen, knights Drake . . 82 

Em'er-son, quoted 237 

En'di-cott, John, influence of . . . 122 

punishes Indians 132 

En'gland (ing-), Charles I. beheaded in, 155 
claims New Netherlands . . 145, 146 
Commonwealth in .... 134, 155 
French and Indian War . . . 198-213 

gains Canada 213 

gives Florida back to Spain . . . 323 
Holland declares war against . . . 146 

King George's War 189 

King-killers in 186 

King William's War .... 184, 185 

Land grants of Charles II 142 

Navigation Act passed . . . 134, 135 

passes Townshend Acts 224 

rebellion under James 1 160 

Restoration 156 

Revolutionary War .... 234-322 

Separatists leave 107 

Seven Year's War 210 

Stamp A(^t 219, 220, 223 

takes Virginia charter away . . . 154 
treatment of colonies .... 214, 232 
war of Austrian Succession .... 189 

war with Spain 81, 165 

En'giish (ing-) Church, established by 

Henry VIII 106 

English colonies. See Settlements. 

English explorations 60, 80-85 

English settlements, in Boston . . . 124 

in Carolina 162 

in Connecticut 132 

in Georgia 165 

in Maine 130 

in Maryland 152 

in Massachusetts 122 

in New England Ill, 125 

in North Carolina 85 

in Pennsylvania 147 

in Rhode Island 129 

in Virginia 87 

English Turn in the Mississippi . . .182 
Er'i€ the Red, discovers Greenland. . 27 
Es'ki-mo§, trade with Northmen. . . 27 



332 



PAGK 

J5?u'r6pe, civilization in fifteenth cen- 
tury 24, 25 

inhabitants of 14 

Eu'taiv Springs, battle of 314 

"E-van'ge-lmgj" Longfellow's . . .209 
Ex-plo-ra'tions, Dutch .... 103, 105 

English 60. 80-86 

French 71-74, 174-179 

Portuguese 42, 61 

Spanish 47-58, 62-70 

Fair'fax, Lord, sends Washington as 

surveyor 193, 194 

Fal'mouth (Portland), burned . . .246 

Fan'ewO Hall, meetings at 226 

"Father of Waters," Mississippi 

called 67, 177 

File brigade, first in Philadelphia . . 205 
Fire water, Indians' name for rum . . 104 
First Continental Congress, at Phila- 
delphia 229 

" Five intolerable acts " 229 

Flag, American, adopted 268 

Flam'b6r-6M5'^ Head, naval battle off . 295 
Fletch'er, Governor, of Connecticut . 169 

F16r'i-da,De Soto explores 68 

discovered by Pc^nce de Leon ... 64. 

French settlement in 74 

given bnck to Spain 323 

relinquislied by Spain 213 

Spanish claim 74 

Spanish settlements in . . . 102, 105 
F6rbc§, British commander .... 210 

Fort' fathers' Day 112 

Fort Creve-coe«r, built 180 

Fort Duquesne (doo-lian'), British de- 
feat at 207, 208 

French abandon 210 

Fort Edward, captured by Burgoyne, 265 
Fort Fron'te-na€, destroyed .... 211 

Fort Gri§'wold, seized 316 

Fort Lee, Americans at 255 

Greene leaves 257 

Fort Monl'trie, bombarded .... 247 

Fort Nas'saw, built 105, 151 

settlers driven from 144 

Fort Ne-^es'si-ty, built 198 

Fort Or'ange, built 105 

Fort Sehuy'leT, be-ieged 267 

Fort Stan'wix, besieged ... 267, 268 
Fort Ti-con-der-6'ga, captured by Bur- 
goyne 265 

plan to capture 206 

surrender of 237 

Fort Wash'ing-ton, Americans hold . 255 
capture of 256 



• PAGE 

Fort Wil'liam Henry, seized . . . .210 
Foun'tain of Youth, search for . . . 64 
Fox, Charles J., British statesman . . 314 
Fo.v, George, leader of Quakers . . .135 
Fox River, Marquette and Joliet at . 177 
France, acknowledges independence of 

United States 272 

and Spain, allies in Queen Anne's 

War 188 

at war with Spain 71 

French and Indian War . . . 198-213 
King George's War .... 189, 190 
King William's War .... 184, 185 

Queen Anne's War 187 

Seven Years' War 210 

territory claimed by 181 

Frank'lin, Benjamin, career of . 199-205 
deputy postmaster-general . . .206 
draws up Declaration of Indepen- 

deuce 250 

in First Continental Congress . . . 229 

in France 262, 272 

opposes Stamp Act 220 

plan of government of . . . 206, 218 

returns to Philadelphia 325 

scientific experiments of .... 205 

treats for peace 322 

Fra'ger, British general 269 

Fray Pia-mi'rez (-reth), Spanish priest, 79 

Fred-er-i'-€a, battle of 166 

Fred'er-ick the Great, of Prussia . . 262 
French and Indian War . . . 198-213 

Putnam's services in 281 

French, and Indians attack English 

settlers 184, 185 

attacked by Natchez Indians . . . 183 

build forts 196 

colonies of. See French settlements. 
explorations of ... 71-74, 174-179 

in Canada 70-73 

marry Indians 176 

possessions of 183 

Fi-ench Hii'g?/e-nots, murder of . . 102 
French settlements, along Great Lakes, 188 

in Acadia 102, 105, 174 

in Carolina 74 

in Florida 74 

in Illinois 177 

in Louisiana 181 

in New Orleans 183 

in Quebec 174 

in Wisconsin 177 

Friends, colony of, in New World . . 147 

kindness of 149, 150 

Quakers called 135 

Fr6b'ish-er, explorations of . . , 80, 81 



333 



PAGE 

Fr5n'te-na€, Count, governor of Canada, 184 
governor of New France . . . .177 
La Salle confers with 181 

Frontenac, Fort, destroyed .... 211 

Gage, General, governor of Massachu- 
setts 232,245 

sent to Boston 224 

wins battle of Bunker Hill . . . .240 
Gas'pee Point, Gaspee burned at . . 217 
Gates, Burgoyne surrenders to . . . 270 

defeated at Camden 299 

proposed as commander-in-chief . 274 

supersedes Schuyler 269 

** Gate'way of he West,' Ohio called . 191 
General Court, in colonial j;overnment, 125 
G6n'o-a, Columbus born at . . 36, 37 

trading city o 35 

Gen-o-e"§e', seek new road to East . . 35 

George, Lake, battle of 203 

George 1 162 

George II. ,grantsGeorgia to Oglethorpe, 165 
George III., offers Americans represen- 
tation .... 272 

olive-branch petition sent to . . . 232 
recognizes independence of the 

United States . 322 

taxation of colonies . = .... 218 
Gfor'gi-a, British driven out of . . . 315 

conquered by British 297 

De Soto in 68 

not represented in First Continental 

Congress . . 229 

Ger'man settlement, in Germantown 150 
German soldiers, hired by British . . 245 
Gei-'man-town, battle of . . . o . . 264 

Germans settle in , . 150 

Gi-bral'tar, Strait of, Northmen at . 25 
Gil'bert, Sir Hum'phrey, at Newfound- 
land • . 83 

Gist, trapper, accompanies Washing- 
ton ......... 196, 197 

G6ffe, flees to New Haven 136 

leads colonists against Indians . . 141 

Gold'en Hill, fight at 225 

Good Hope', Cape of, discovered . . 42 
G6r'gS§, founds colony in Maine . . 130 
GOs'nold, discovers Cape Cod .... 86 
Gov'ern-ment of New England colonies, 125 
Grand Can'yon of Colorado .... 68 

Great Charter of Virginia 101 

Great Lakes, missions estal>lished on . 177 

Great Meadows, battle at 198 

Great Rebellion in Virginia .... 160 
Great South Sea, discovered .... 64 
Greece, seat of learning 32 



PAGE 

Green Bay, Marquette and Joliet at . 177 
Green Mountain Boys, cut Burgoyne 

off from Canada 267 

march to Fort Ticoiideroga .... 237 
Greene, General Nathanael, American 

commander 312 

defeated at Fort Washington , , 256 
defeated at Guilford Courthouse . . 314 

joins Morgan 313 

leaves Fort Lee 257 

Green'land, discovered 27 

Indians in 14 

Gr6n'ville, British minister .... 223 

Gri§'wold, Fort, seized 316 

Gfdl'ford Courthouse, Greene defeated 

at 314 

Gwin'ea, stories about ...... 35 

Gulf Coast, explored 65, 66 

Gulf of Mex'i-oo, La Salle reaches . . 181 
Gulf of St. Law'rence, French posses- 
sions on 213 

Gunn'biorn (byorn), discovers Green- 
"' land 27 

Hack'en-sack, Washington at . . . 257 

Had'ley, Indian attack at 141 

Harti, discovered by Columbus ... 50 

Spanish colony in 62 

Spanish mutiny at ....... 57 

Hale, Nathan, death of 255 

Half-Moon, Hudson's ship 103 

Han'cock, John, at Lexington . . . 234* 
president of Second Continental Con- 
gress 238, 250 

Hart'ford, Cliarter Oak in 168 

founded 132 

trading station at 131 

Har'vard College, origin of name . . 125 

Hat'ter-as, Cape, explored 60 

Ha-van'a, capture of 282 

Columbus's tomb at 59 

recovered by Spain ...... 213 

Ha'ver-/all, attack on ...... 185 

Hawk'in§, introduces negro slavery 

into West Indies 80 

Hen'?ie-pin, Father, adventures of . 180 

Hen'ry, Cape, named 87 

Henry, Patrick, speech of . . . 221, 231 
Henry VII., Columbus asks aid from, 40 
sends expedition to America ... 60 
Henry VIII., establishes Anglican 

church 106, 152 

Henry of Por'tu-gal, the navigator, 

35. 36, 39 
Her'ki-mer, General, victorious at Oris- 
kany 267 



334 



PAGE I 

Hessian (hesh'an) soldiers, hired by 

British 245 

Washington defeats 260, 261 

His-pan-io'la (-yo-) (Haiti), discovered 

by Columbus 50 

HOb'kirk Hill, battle of 314 

HOl'land, declares war against England, 146 

Separatist colony in 107 

trading vessels sent from . . . .104 
Hook'er. pastor, settles at Hartford . 131 i 

Horn, Cape, Indians in 14 I 

Horse'neck, Putnam's t-srape at . . .284 | 
HOs'pI-trtl, founded in Philadelphia . 205 
House of Bur'ges-ses, 101, 154, 156, 211, 221 
House of Com'mons in England . . . 219 

Howe, British general 239 

burns Cliarlestown 242 

captures Fort Washington . c . . 256 
captures forts on Delaware . . . .264 
defeats Americans at Brandywine . 264 
detained by Mrs. Murray . . . 254, 255 

in New York 256 

plans to surprise W^ashington . . . 275 

returns to England 277 

takes Philadelphia . 264 

wins battle of Long Island .... 253 

Howe, Lord, proclamation of ... . 252 

Hud'sou P.ay, discovered ..... 105 

land around, ceded to British . . . 188 

Hudson, Henry, explorations of . 103, 105 

imprisoned by English 104 

Hudson Valley, British attempt to 

seize 297 

claimed by French 184 

owned by Dutch 143 

Hu'gwe-nots, go to America ... 73, 74 

massacre of 74, 102, 174 

Hutch'in-son, Mrs. Anne, preaching 

of 129, 130 

slain 143 

i-ber-viKe', builds Biloxi 182 

Ice'land, discovered by Northmen . , 25 

Ice-lan'dic discovery 27 

Il-li-nois', forts captured in . . . . 288 

visited by priests 177 

Illinois River, La Salle explores, 180, 181 

Manpiette and Joliet explore . . . 179 

In-de-pend'ence Bell 250 

Independence, Declaration of . 248-252 
Independence Hall, in Pennsylvania . 252 
Independence of United States, ac- 
knowledged by France .... 272 

acknowledged by George III. . . . 322 
In'di-a, search for northwest passage 
to 35, 38, 80, 94, 103, 105 



• PAGE 

India, Vasco da Gama reaches ... 61 
In'di-an Ocean, Vasco da Gama sails 

across 61 

Indian raids 286-288 

Indian wars, first in New England . . 133 

French and Indian 198-213 

King Philip's 138-140 

Pequot 13-2, 133 

Pontiac 214 

with Virginia 153, 154 

In'di-an§, aid British in Revolutionary 

War 266 

aid French againsst English settlers, 

184, 185 

as farmers 17 

attack Boonesboro 289-292 

attack colonists . . ill, 139, 143, 158 

attack Northmen 29 

barbarous 17, 18 

Captain Smith with 89-94 

characteristics of 14 

clans of 19 

conflict with Spaniards .... 76-78 

conquered by Standish 123 

conversion of 176 

cruelty of 286 

Eliot translates Biide for ... . 126 

fortresses of . o 21, 22 

friendly with Pilgrims . . . 114, 118 

Gen. Sullivan punishes 287 

hired by British 286 

in Mexico conquered 66 

mode of life 15, 16 

named by Columbus 48 

Penn's treaty with 148, 149 

Pequot 132 

Pueblo 102 

pursuits of . 15 

religion of 19 

sold as slaves 55 

Southern 21, 22 

In'di-go, cultivated in Carolina . . .163 
In-sur'ance Company, first in Phila- 
delphia 205 

Ireland, potatoes introduced into , . 85 
Ir-o-quoi/ (Five Nations), at war with 

Algonquins . - 175 

attack of 184 

Ir'ving, Washington, Tales of . . . 146 
I§-a-bel'la, Queen of Spain, aids Colum- 
bus 43,44 

death of 59 

Isabella, colony at 54 

Ja-mai"ca, Columbus discovers ... 55 
James, Duke of York, land grant to . 142 



.35 



PAGE 

James, Duke of York, orders surrender 
of New Amsterdam 145 

James I., imprisons Raleigh .... 87 
makes Virginia a royal province . . 154 
sends presents to Powliatan ... 93 

James II., appoints An<lros . . . .167 

dethroned 168 

sends prisoners to Virginia . . 160, 161 

James River, named 87 

James'town, burned 159 

Captain Smith governs . . . . 92, 93 

colony founded at 87, 105 

Dale governs 97 

first English city in United States . 93 

House of Burgesses at 101 

seized by rebels 158 

slavery in 101 

starvation time in 96 

Ja-pan', location of, on early maps . . 39 
traders seek new road to .... 35 

Jas'per, Sergeant, killed 298 

rescues American flag 248 

J6f'/er-son, Thomas, draws up Declara- 
tion of Independence 250 

John II., King of Portugal .... 39 
names Cape of Good Hope .... 42 

John'son, British colonel 285 

Joliet (zho-lea'), explorations of . . 177 

Jones, John Paul, captures English 

vessels 293, 294 

goes to serve Russia 297 

victory of 295, 296 

Ka-na'wfta, Boone moves to ... . 293 

Kegs, Battle of the 265 

Ken-ttick'y, Indian raids in ... . 287 

Kidd, pirate captain 164 

Kieft, Governor, trouble with Indians, 143 

King George's War 189, 190 

King Philip's War 138-140 

King William's War 185 

King's College 252 

Kings Mountain, battle of 311 

Kips Bay, troops stationed at . . . 254 

KirAr -eal'dy, Jones at 294 

Knox, American general . . . 318, 324 
Kos-91-us'ko, joins Washington . . .264 

Lab-ra-ddr*, Cabot explores .... 60 

Northmen at . . 28 

Lady Ar-M'la, Puritan ship .... 123 
Lady Re-bec'ca, Pocahontas baptized as, 99 
La-fa-y6t«e', at Yorktown . . . 316, 318 

joins Americans 262, 263 

sent to Virginia 316 

wounded 264 



PAGE 

Lake George, victory at 209 

Lakes, Great, missions established at . 177 

LaN-da'is, Captain 296 

La Ra'bi-da, monastery of 42 

La Salic, adventures of 180 

discovers Ohio River 180 

murdered 182 

Laudonniere (lu-do-ne-ar'), settles in 

Carolina 74 

League of the colonies 134 

Lee, Fort, Americans at 255 

Greene leaves 257 

Lee, General Charles, delay of . 257, 258 

dismissed from army 279 

retreat of 278 

Lee, Henry, and Mrs. Motte . . . . 313 

called " Light Horse Harry "... 309 
Lee, Richard Henry, resolution of . . 248 
Leeds, denied right to vote .... 219 
Lcif the Lucky, explorations of ... 28 
Leis'ler, governor of New York . . . 170 

Le'on, Isabella, Queen of 59 

Lex'ing-ton, battle of 234 

Ley'den, Separatist colony in . . . . 107 
Liberty Bell, in Pennsylvania. . . . 252 
Library in Philadelphia, founded by 

Franklin 203 

Lightning rods, invented 205 

Line'o.in, Cornwallis's swDrd delivered 
to' 318 

defends Charleston 298 

Lig'bon, Columbus at 37 

Liv'ing-ston, Robert, draws up Declara- 
tion of Independence 250 

L6ck^, John, laws of 162 

Logs'town, Washington at 196 

Lon'don Company, Captain Smith joins, 89 

formed 87 

Long Island, battle of 253 

Kieft meets Indians on 143 

Long River, Connecticut River called . 131 

LoM'i.? XIV., aids La Salle 181 

Louis XVI., Jones at court of . . . 2'.)6 
LoM'is-burg, British capture . . . .211 

captured by New Englanders . . . 190 

French fort at 189 

Lo?<-i-§i-a'na, Acadians wander to . . 209 

ceded to Spain 213 

territory embraced by 181 

" Mad An't^o-ny," Wayne called . .284 
Ma-dei'ra Islands, discovered ... 36 

Mad'o€, visits America 31 

Ma-dras' in India, ceded to England . 190 

Ma-gel7an, explorations of 65 

Strait of, Drake sails through ... 82 



33^ 



PAGE 

Maine, added to Massachusetts . . . 169 

Gorges fouuds colony in 130 

quarrels with Massachusetts Bay 

colony 166 

Man'ches-ter, denied right to vote . . 219 
Man'de-vil?e, Sir John, travels of . . 33 
Man-hat'ian Island, Hudson lands on, 104 

purchased by Dutch 143 

trading station established on, 104, 142 

Maps, in early days 32 

Mar-ble-head', offers port to Boston. . 232 

Mar'co Polo, travels of 33 

Mar'cos, explorations of 68 

Mar'i-on, called "Bay'ardof the South", 300 
in battle of Eutaw Springs . . . . 3]5 

Marque (mark), letters of 293 

Marquette (mar-k6t'), explorations 

of 177-179 

Ma'ry-land (mer'-), boundary dispute 

with Pennsylvania 153 

quarrel with Virginia 153 

Ma'son and Dix'on line 153 

Mason, John, founds colony in New 

Hampshire 130 

Mohegan chief aids 133 

Mas-sa-chu' setts Bay colony, emblem 

of 127 

joins league 134 

Navigation Act not observed in . . 166 
Parliament takes away charter . . 229 
Plymouth colony and Maine added 

to . . 169 

Quaker excitement in 135 

quarrels with Maine 166 

receives new charter 169 

resists taxation 224 

settlement at Salem 120 

Williams College in 209 

Massachusetts Congress 236 

Massachusetts Historical Society . . 142 
Mas'sa-soit, Indian chief, cured by 

Winslow 118 

makes treaty with Governor Car- 
ver 114, 137 

Mat-a-g6r'da Bay, f(jrt built at . . . 181 
Math'er, Cotton, minister . . . 172, 173 
J/ay'^Oit'-er, Pilgrims sail in . . . .108 

returns to England 115 

McCrea', Jane, killed by Indians . . 266 
Med'i-gine men, among Indians ... 19 
Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an Sea, Columbus visits 

ports on 37 

Northmen explore 25 

Meuendez (ma-nen'deth), Spanish 

leader 74 

Merry Mount, English colonists at . . 122 



• PAGE 

Meth'o-dist Church, Wesley founder of, 165 
Mex'i-co, captured by Cortez .... 66 

Indians in 20 

Mexico, Gulf of, explored 179 

La Salle reaches 181 

Mexico, New, Marcos visits .... 68 
MJQh'i-gan, Lake, Marquette and Jo- 

liet at 177, 179 

Mi€/i-i-li-mack'i-nac, Indian victory at, 214 

La Salle at 180 

Min'u-it, purchases Manhattan Island, 143 

Minutemen, drilling of 231 

warn soldiers 233 

Mis-sis-sip'i)i, called "Father of Wa- 
ters" 67 

explored 68, 177, 181 

lands east of, ceded to Great Britain, 213 

Narvaez drowned in 67 

Mississippi Valley, mounds in . . = 22 
Mis-sow'ri Indians, homes of .... 19 
Missouri Piver, explored ... 69, 178 

Mo'hawk Valley 265 

Mo-he'gan Indians, Pequots seek alli- 
ance with 132 

Money, coined in Massachusetts Bay 

colony 166 

paper, issued by Congress .... 302 

MOn'moutb, battle of 278 

Mo-n5n-ga-he'la, battle of the . . .208 
M6nt-€aZm', captures Oswego . . . 210 

defeated at Quebec 212 

Monte zu'ma, Indian chief .... 66 
Mont-gom'er-y, takes Montreal . . . 246 

M5nt-re-al', attacked 187 

Joliet returns to 179 

La Salle in 180 

named by Cartier 72, 174 

surrender of 213 

taken by Montgomery 246 

Moors, expelled from Spain .... 42 
Mor'gan, Daniel, at battle of Still- 
water 269 

joined by Greene 313 

victorious at Cowpens 312 

victorious at Saiatoga 271 

MOr'ns, Robert, Washington appeals 

to 303 

M6r'ris-town Heights, Washington 

at .... .^ 262, 279 

M5tfe, Mrs., sacrifice of 313 

Moul'ivie, Fort, bombarded . . . .247 

Mound builders 22 

Mounds, description of 23 

Mount Hope, Indian camp at . . . 140 
Mount Vtr'non, Washington's home 
at ...... . 193, 195, 196 



337 



Mount Vernon, Washington returns to, 324 
Miir'ray, Mrs., anecdote about . . . 254 

Na-p6'le-on 321 

Nar-ra-gan'sett Indians, Canonicus 

chief of 118 

Pequots seek alliance with .... 132 
Nar-va'ez (eth), txplorations of . . . 67 
Nas'sa?<, Fort, built by Dutch . 105, 151 

settlers driven from 144 

Natch'ez Indians, attack French . . 183 
Nav-i-ga'tion Act, not observed in 

Massachusetts 166 

provisions of . 134, 135, 155, 214, 215 
Ne-Qes'si-ty, Fort, Washington builds, 198 
Ne'gro slavery, in West Indies ... 80 

New Albi-on, explored 82 

New Am'ster-dam, description of . . 144 

founded 105, 143 

surrenders to English . . . 145, 146 
New'burg, Washington's forces at, 321, 323 
New En'gland (irig), English settle- 
ments in 125 

explored 95 

government of 125 

New'foQnd-land, Cabot explores . . 60 

ceiled to British 188 

early explorations of 174 

taken by Gilbert 83 

New France, claimed by Cartier . . 174 
New Hamp'shiie, Mason founds colony 

in 130 

a separate royal province .... 166 

New Ha'ven, founded 133 

Goffe and Whalley flee to . „ . . 136 

joined to Connecticut 137 

joins league 134 

school established at 169 

New Jer'gey, Washington retreats 

across 257 

New Jersey, East, sold to Penn . . .146 
New Jersey, West, sold to Quakers, 146, 147 
New Lon'don, Arnold sets fire to . . 310 

New Mex'i-co, Indians in 20 

Marcos visits 68 

New Nfith'er-lands, settlements in, 

102, 105, 144 

surrenders to English 146 

New Or'le-ans, ceded to Spain . . . 213 

French fort at 183 

French possession 213 

New'port, Americans attempt to seize, 280 

settlement at 130 

New Swe'den, given to English . . .151 

settlements at 145 

New World, America known as . . . 13 



PAGE 

New World, discovery of 61 

New York, British leave 323 

British plan to invade 265 

fight at Golden Hill in 225 

Howe and Clinton in 256 

King's College in 252 

New Amsterdam called 146 

statue of Hale in 256 

New York Bay, Howe enters . . . 252 

Hudson enters 103 

Nl-ag'a-ra (" The Thunder of Wateis"), 73 

British army to move to 206 

Nina (neen'yah), Columbus's ship . . 44 

reaches Portugal 51 

Nor'mans, explorations of ..... 25 
Norse'men, explorations of .... 25 
North America, Norse settlement in . 28 
North Carolina, English colony in . . 85 
North Piiver, Hudson River called . . 103 

North Sea, coast explored 25 

Paul Jones coasts along 294 

North'men, attacked by Indians. . . 29 

in America 27 

journeys of 25 

settle in Iceland 25, 27 

Northwest' Passage, search for, 

38, 80, 81, 94, 103, 105 
Northwest Territory, land grants in o 325 

Nor'way, Noitliraen in 25 

Nova Seo'tia (-slil-a), Acadia named . 188 

Cabot explores 60 

French settlement in . . , , . .174 
Northmen at 28 

O-'gle-thorpe, James, Georgia granted 

to 164, 165 

returns to England 166 

0-lii'o, mounds in 22 

Ohio River, called " Beautiful River " . 191 

discovered 180 

explored 179 

Ohio Valley, claimed by French and 

English 191, 198, 207 

Old Do-min'ion (-yun), Virginia called, 155 
Old South ]\Ieetinghouse, patriots as- 
sembled at 226 

Olive-branch petition. . . o . . . 232 
Onate (on-yah'ta), at Acoma ... 76, 77 

founds Santa F^ 76 

6n-ta'ri-o, Lake, British army starts 

from 265 

Or'ange, Fort, built 105 

O-ri-no'co River, Columbus explores . 57 
O-ris'ka-ny, Indians routed at. . . . 267 
Orphan asylum, Whitefield supports 
first 165 



338 



PAGE 

Os-we'go, British army at 209 

captured by Montcalm 210 

O'tis, James, opposes search warrants, 217 
Ox'ford University 82 

Pa-gif ic Ocean, discovered by Balboa, 64 

named by Magellan 65 

Pa'los, Columbus sails from .... 44 
Pan-a-ma', Isthmus of, Drake at . . 81 

settlement on 63 

Pa-poo'ses, Indian babies 20 

Par'is, treaty of .... 213, 322, 325 
Par'lio-ment, Americans not repre- 
sented in 217 

Americans offered representation in, 272 

repeals Stamp Act 223 

Pawl'ding, captures Andr6 .... 306 
Pear'son, Captain, Paul Jones defeats, 296 

Pel'i-can, Drake's ship 82 

Penn, William, East New Jersey sold 

to 146 

founds Philadelphia 150 

laws of . » 149 

Pennsylvania granted to .... 147 

treaty with Indians .... 148, 149 

Penn-syl-va'ni-a, boundary, dispute of, 153 

granted to Penn 147 

Pennsylvania Historical Society . . 149 
Pe-6'ri-a, Fort Cr^vecoeur built near . 180 
Pep'j)er-ell(-il) takes Louisburg . . . 190 

Pe'qu6t War 132, 133 

Pe'rez (reth), Prior, intercedes for Co- 
lumbus 43 

Per'sian (shan) Gulf 34 

Pe-riY, conquered by Pizarro ... 66 
Phil-a-derphi-a, aids soldiers . . . 303 

British in 265, 275 

British leave 277 

British plan to seize 259 

delegates meet at 237 

First Continental Congress at . . 229 

first public library in 205 

founded 150 

taken by Howe 264 

Phil'ip, son of Massasoit . . . 137-139 
Phil'ip-pine Islands, Magellan Killed 

at, . 65 

Phips, Sir William, attacks Port Royal, 187 

Pick'en§, American hero 300 

Pil'griras, friendly relations of, with 

Indians 118 

hardships of 113 

land at Plymouth Rock . . . Ill, 113 

origin of name . 108 

reach Cape Cod Bay .... 109-111 
Pil'lo-ry, mode of punishment . . . 172 



210 
210 

66 
212 
101 

87 

169 



PAGE 

Pi-ne'da, explorations of 65 

Pine-tree shillings 167 

Pln'ta, Columbus's ship 44 

Pinzon (peen-thon') brothers, offer to 
assist Columbus. ...... 43 

sail with Columbus 44, 46 

Pitch'er, Molly, in battle of Mon- 
mouth 278, 279 

Pitt, William, advises new census . . 219 

opposes Stamp Act .... 219, 223 

sends troops to America 

Pitts'burg, built .... 

Pi-zai-'ro, conquers Peru . 

Plains of Abraham, Wolfe at 

Plan-ta'tions, origin of name 

i Plym'oilth Company, settlements of , 

Plymouth colony, added to Massachu 

setts 

English settlements at Ill 

growth of 120 

joins league 134 

Plymouth Rock, Pilgrims land at. 111, 113 
Po-€a-h5n'tas, aids English colonists . 92 

death of 100 

marries John Rolfe 98 

pleads for Captain Smith .... 90 

warns Captain Smith 95 

welcomed by queen .99 

Poles, assist Americans in Revolution- 
ary War 264 

Ponce de Leon (pon'tha da la-on'), 

death of 65 

discovers Florida 64 

P6n'ti-ac War 214 

Poor Richard's Almanac, published, 

203, 294 

Port' age, defined 181 

Portland, burned 246 

Port Roy'al, attacked 187 

called Annapolis 188 

French settlement at ... . 102, 174 

Ports'mouth, settled 130 

Por'tii-gal, covets Eastern trade . . 35 
Por'tu-g«ese, discover A-zores' ... 36 

explorations 42, 61 

Po-ta'toe§, introduced into Ireland . 65 

P6-t6'ma€ River 191 

Pow-ha-tan', aids English colonists . 92 
crowned K^ing of Virginia . . .93, 94 

Indian chief 90 

Pres'cott, American colonel . . 239-241 
Prescott, British general . . . 258, 259 
Priiice'ton, battle of .... 261, 262 

Print'ing, invented 32, 33 

Printing press, first in colonies . . . 126 
Pri§'oners, care for 246 



339 



PAGE 

Prov'i-dence, Williams settles at . . 129 
Pueb'lo (pvvgli-) Indians, converted . 102 
Puerto Rico (pw6r't6 re'co), Ponce de 

Leon starts from .64 

Pii-las'ki, assists Americans .... 264 

killed 298 

Put'nani, Israel, in Revolutionary War, 236 

retreat of 253-255 

returns to Connecticut 283 

stories about 2S0-284 

Pu'ri-tans, called "Roundheads" . . 155 

origin of 107 

power of English 134 

settlements of 121, 122, 124 

Quak'ers, characteristics of .... 185 
settle in Rhode Island . . . 130, 136 
sufferings of 135 

Que-bec', attacked 187, 246 

battle of 211-213 

Cartier at 72 

plan to besiege 206 

settled o . . 174 

Queen Anne's War 187, 188 

RaW, surrender of 261 

Ra'leigh, Sir Walter, establishes colony 

on Roanoke Island 85 

imprisoned o 87 

Virginia granted to 85 

voyage of 83 

Rfin'ijer, Paul Jones's vessel . . . .294 

Red River explored 69 

Reed, Joseph 259, 303 

Reg'i-cides (king-killers) 136 

Re-vere', Paul, ride of ... . 233, 234 
Rev-c-lu'tion of 1688, in England . . 170 
Revolutionary War . . . 149, 234-321 
Rhode Is'land, charter of . 137, 167, 169 

colony formed in 129 

Northmen at 28 

Quakers settle in 130 

Ribault (re-bo'), settles in Carolina . 74 
Rice, cultivated in Carolina .... 163 
Rip Van Win'kle, Irving's tale of . . 146 
Ro-a-noke' Island, Raleigh establishes 

English colony on 85 

R6b'in-5on, Separatist minister . 108, 123 

Rocky ^Mountains 181 

R5g'er§, joins Putnam 281 

R5lfe, John, marries Pocahontas . . 98 
Ro'mau Cath'o-lics, persecution of, 

106, 107, 134 
R5ss, Mrs., makes first American flag, 268 
"Round'heads," Puritans called . . 155 
Roy'al-ists, called "Cavaliers" . . .155 



PAGE 

Royalists, come to America .... 156 

Royal Oak 167 

Russia (rftsh'a), Paul Jones serves . . 297 

Rflt'lgrfge, Mr 229 

Ryg'wick, treaty of 187 

Sa'chem, Indian ruler 19 

Sa.g'a-more, Indian ruler 19 

Sa'ga§, Norse tales 30 

Sa-ha'ra 35 

St. An't^o-ny, Falls of 180 

St. Au'gtis-tine, besieged 165 

founded 75 

St. John's River, French settlement on, 74 
St. Law'rence, Gulf of, French posses- 
sions on 213 

St. Lawrence River, explored ... 72 

Indians at 18 

named by Cartier 174 

St. Leg'er, besieges Fort Stanwix . . 267 

retreat of 268 

St. Marys, settlement at 152 

St. Ni€ft'o-las 144 

St. Pat'rick's day 247 

St. Re'gis, Indian church at ... . 188 
Sa'lem, port of, offered to Boston . . 232 

Roger Williams, preaches at . . 127 

settlement at 122 

Salem witchcraft 170-173 

Sam'o-set, welcomes English . . . .113 
San Di-e'go, Spanish colony at ... 76 
San-ta F^, Spanish colony at . . 76, 102 
Siin-td Md-ri'a, Columbus's ship ... 44 

wrecked 50 

Santo Do-min'go 59 

Sar-a-to'ga, American victory at . 269-272 
Sar-gas'so Sea, Columbus sails through, 46 

Sa'tan 171 

Sa-van'nah, founded 165 

taken by British 297 

Say, Lord, land granted to 130 

Say'brook, eolony founded at . . . . 130 

included in New Haven colony , . 134 

S€/te-n6c'ta-tly, burned 185 

Schools, public, established . . . .125 

SeAwy'ler, Fort, besieged 267 

Schuyler, General, sent against Bur- 
goyne 265 

superseded by Gates 269 

victorious at Saratoga 271 

"Sea of Darkness," Atlantic Ocean 

called 31, 40 

Search war'rants, o{)position to . . . 217 
See'konk, Williams attempts settle- 
ment at 129 

Sen-e-gal' 36 



340 



PAGE 

Sep'a-ra-tists, found colony in Holland, 107 

persecution of 107 

sail for New World 108 

Se-ra'pis, British vessel .... 295, 296 
Set'tle-nients, Dutch .... 105, 143, 144 

English 85, 87, 111, 122, 

124, 125, 129, 130, 132, 147, 152, 162, 165 
French, 74, 102, 105, 174, 177, 181, 183, 188 

German 150 

Portuguese 36 

Swedish 151 

Seven Years' War 210 

Se-viKe' 59 

Sher'man, Roger, draws up Declara- 
tion of IndepenJence 250 

Sim'e-on 317 

Hioux Indians, capture Father Henne- 
pin 180 

" Skin'ners," marauding troops called . 305 
Skrae'lings, Norse name for Indians . 29 
"Sky City," Acoma called . . . . 68,76 

Slav'er-y, in Georgia 165, 166 

in Jamestown 101 

in West Indies 80 

Sleep'y Hullow^, livings tales of . . 146 

Slour/Zi'ter, Governor, of New York. . 170 

Smith, Captain, adventures of . . 88-91 

called "Admiral of New England" , 95 

death of 96 

governs Jamestown settlement . . 92 

joins London Company 89 

returns to England 95 

Smok'ing, introduced 50 

Smug'gling, begun 216 

Snor'ri, first European born in Amer- 
ica 28, 29 

Sons of Liberty 222, 252 

South A-mer'i-ca, Indians in .... 20 

Portuguese approach 61 

South Car-o-li'na, Americans lose . . 300 

British driven out of 315 

Spain, ally of France 188 

at war with England .... 81, 165 

at war with France 71 

Florida given back to 323 

gives up Florida 213 

in French and Indian War .... 213 

receives New Orleans and Louisiana, 213 

Span'ish, at St. Augustine, attacked . 75 

attack Charleston 188 

expl (rations of 62-70 

invade Georgia ........ 18G 

massacre Huguenots .... 74, 174 

settlements . . 62-64, 75, 76, 102, 105 

Speed'wcll, Pilgrim ship 108 

Spice Islands 58 



• PAGE 

Spots'wood, Governor, jou-rney of . . 161 
Squan'to, captured 106 

favorite of Pilgrims .... 114, 115 

Squawg, Indian women 16, 20 

Stamp Act Congress 222 

Stamp Act, passed 219 

repealed 223 

Stand'ish, Miles, attacked by Indians, 111 

conquers Indians 123 

made captain of Pilgrims .... 110 

Stan'wix, Fort, besieged 267 

Stark, General, in Revolutionary War, 236 

victorious at Bennington .... 266 
"Star-va'tion Time" in Jamestown . 96 
Steele, Mrs., aids Gen. Greene . . . 313 
Steu'beu, German patriot 263 

joins Washington 277 

Still' wa-ter, battle of 269 

Stock?, mode of punishment .... 172 
Stony Point, attack on 284 

captured 285 

Storms, Cape of, discovered .... 42 

Stove, Penn invents tirst 204 

Stwy've-sant, Peter, governor of New 
Amsterdam 144 

returns to Holland 146 

takes New Sweden 145 

Sul'li-van, General, punishes Indians, 

286, 287 

Sura'ter, American hero 300 

"Swamp Fox," Marion called . . .300 
Swan'sea, Indian attack at .... 139 
Swedes, settle New Sweden . . 145, 151 

Tam'pa Bay, De Soto lands at ... 68 
Tap'pan, monument to Andr^ at . . 308 
Tarle'ton, cruelty of 299 

defeated at Cowpens 312 

Tar'ry-town, Andr^ captured at . . . 305 

Andre's monument at 308 

Tax, on tea 227 

Tax-a'tion, of colonies .... 219-227 

Tea, tax on 227 

Ten-er-ife', volcano of 36, 45 

Tex' as, French fort in 181 

Thanks'giv-ing Day, oi'igin of . . . . 116 

T/tor'wald-sen, sculptor 29 

Ti-con-de-ro'ga, Fort, British defeat at, 237 

captured by Burgoyne 265 

plan to capture 206 

To-bac'co, cultivation of . . . 98, 100 

introduced into Englaml f ... 86 
Tom'a-hawks, Indian hatche-ts ... 20 
Ton'ty, lieutenant of La Salle . 180, 182 
To'ries, try to rescue Andros .... 168 
Tos-ca-nel'li, a learned Italian ... 39 



341 



PACE 

Tower Hill 286 

Town'g/iend Acts, passed 224 

Trade laws for colonies . . . 214, 216 
Treaty, between Massasoit and Gover- 
nor Carver 137 

of Aix-la-5ha-pelZe 190 

of Paris 213, 322, 325 

of Penn with Indians .... 148, 149 

Treaty of Rv^'wick 187 

of U'treeAt 188 

Tre'niont ('-Three Hills") settlement. 124 
Tren'ton, Hessians defeated at . 260, 261 
Tri'nioun-taiii, settlement at . . . . 124 

Trin-i-dad', Columbus at 56 

Trin'i-ty Church, monument to sol- 
diers 256, 257 

Tiir-gof, French minister 272 

Turks, besiege Constantinople ... 33 
illtreat European traders .... 35 

Union, Franklin's plan of «... . 206 
United States of America, formed . . 250 
Independence recognized by Eng- 
land 322 

U-ni-ver'si-tyof Pennsylvania, founded, 205 
U'tre€7it, treaty of 188 

Val-cowr' Island, Carleton victoriousat, 252 
Val'ley Forge, Washington's army at, 

264, 273, 277 
Van Wart, captures Andr^ .... 306 
Vas'€0 da GfVraa, voyage of .... 61 
Ve-ne'tians, seek new passage to East, 35 

Ven'ige, trading city 35 

Ve'ra Cruz (-croos), Cortez lands at . 60 
Ver-mont', Green Mountain Boys in . 237 
Verrazano (ver-rah-tsah'no), explora- 
tions of 71, 174, 184 

Vi'kings, journeys of 25 

Viks, bays in Norway 25 

Vin-Qenne§', Fort, surrender of . . . 288 
Vine'land, Northmen's name for Amer- 
ica 28 

Vir-gin'i-a, Arnold in 309 

civil war in . 158 

drives away Catholics 152 

education in 157 

government of 101 

granted to Raleigh 83, 85 

Jamestown founded in 105 

Natural Bridge 194 

Powhatan king of 94 

presented to Culpepper and Arling- 
ton 156 

prosperity in 153 

royal promise 154, 160 



PAGE 

Virginia, royalists in 155 

women sent to lOO, 101 

Voyageurs (vwa-ya-zher'), travelers 

called 176 

Vul'ture, English vessel 305 

Wad§' worth, Captain, conceals charter, 167 

defies Governor Fletcher .... 169 

Wal'dron, Major, killed hy Indians . 184 

Wall Street, origin of name .... 144 

Wam'ptim, use of 23 

War, French and Indian . . = 198-213 

King George's 189, 190 

King Philip's 138-140 

King William's 184, 185 

of the Austrian Succession . . 189, 190 

Pequot 132, 133 

Pontiac 214 

Queen Anne's 187 

Revolutionary 234-321 

Seven Years' 210 

Ward, quotation from 241 

Wsir'ren, Dr., addresses minutemen . 235 

dies at Bunker Hill „ 241 

Wash'ing-ton, Augustine . . . . . 191 
Washington, Colonel William . . . 312 
Washington, Fort, Americans at . . 255 

captured 256 

Washington, George, advice to Brad- 
dock 207 

appeals to Robert Morris .... 303 

assists Forbes 210 

at Fort Duquesne 207, 208 

at Great Meadows 198 

at Valley Forge 264, 273 

boyhood of 191-193 

called "Savior of his Country" . . 262 

chosen general of army 238 

crosses Delaware 260 

defeated at Brandywine 264 

defeats Hessians at Trenton . 260, 261 

disbands his army 323 

discipline of 243,244 

enters Boston 247 

farewell address of 321, 324 

Gates to supersede ..•..'. 274 
headquarters at Cambridge . . . 242 

Howe's letter to 253 

in First Continental Congress . . . 231 
in Second Continental Congress . . 238 
major in Virginia regiment. . . . 196 
marches to Yorktown .... 316, 317 

outwits Cornwallis 261 

plans to capture Cornwal lis. . 315,316 
retreats up the Hudson, 254, 256, 258, 259 
returns to Mount Vernon .... 324 



342 



PAGE 

Washington, George, sent to French 

commander 196 

surveyor 94 

tactics of 257 

victory at Princeton 262 

Washington, Lawrence 195 

Washington, Mrs., at Valley Forge . . 274 
Washington Park, soldiers buried in . 256 

Watts 257 

Wayne, Anthony, captures Stony 

Point 284, 285 

W6s'ley, John, founder of Methodist 

Chnrch 165 

West In'die§, colonists send lumber to, 127 

discovered by Cohmibus 54 

negro slavery in 80 

Spanish colonies in 64 

Washington in 195 

West'miu-ster Abbey, Major Andr^ 

buried in 808 

monument to Wolfe in 213 

West Point, Arnold in command of. . 305 
We/y'motith, Standish victorious at . . 123 
Whal'ley, flees to New Haven. . . . 136 
Whlte'field, supports first orphan 

asylum » . . 165 

White-ha'ven, Paul Jones at . . . .294 
White Land, Gunnbiorn discovers . . 27 
White Plains, Andr^ taken to . . . 306 

battle of 256 

Wig'wams, tents of Indians .... 15 



• PAGE 

Wil'liam and Mary, reign of . . . .168 
William and Mary College, founded . 161 
William Henry, Fort, seized .... 210 
Williams, Ephiaim, founds college. . 209 
Williams, Roger, called "Apostle of 

Toleration" ........ 129 

forms colony at Providence . . . 129 
intercedes with Indians . . . 132, 133 

principles of 127, 128 

Williams, captures Andr6 306 

Wil'ming-toii, Swedish colony at . . 145 
Wing'low, Edward, intercourse with 

Indians 114, 118, 138 

Win'throp, John, governor of Boston 

settlement 123, 124 

Wis-con'sin River, Marquette and 

Joliet explore 177 

Wolfe, James, wins battle of Quebec, 

211-213 
Wy-o'ming Valley, massacre in . . . 286 

Yale College, established 169 

"YSn'kee Doo'dle," adopted as na- 
tional air 270 

nickname for American soldier, 218, 239 

YDnk'erg 248 

York'town, siege of 316, 317 

Zaldivar (thahl-de'var), at Acoma . 77, 78 
Zane, Elizabeth, bravery of .... 290 
Zuni (zoo'nyee) pueblos 68 



Eclectic School Readings 



A carefully graded collection of fresh, interesting and instructive 
supplementary readings for young children. The books are well an6 
copiously illustrated by the best artists, and are handsomely bound iv. 
cloth. 

Folk-Story Series 

Lane's Stories for Children $0.25 

Baldwin's Fairy Stories and Fables ..... .35 

Baldwin's Old Greek Stories , .45 

Famous Story Series 

Baldwin's Fifty Famous Stories Retold 35 

Baldwin's Old Stories of the East 45 

Defoe's Robinson Crusoe 50 

Clarke's Arabian Nights 60 

Historical Story Series 

Eggleston's Stories of Great Annericans 40 

Eggleston's Stories of Annerican Life and Adventure . . .50 

Guerber's Story of the Chosen People 60 

Guerber's Story of the Greeks 60 

Guerber's Story of the Ronaans 60 

Guerber's Story of the English 65 

Clarke's Story of Troy 60 

Clarke's Story of Aeneas 45 

Clarke's Story of Caesar 45 

Natural History Series 

Kelly's Short Stories of Our Shy Neighbors 50 

Dana's Plants and Their Children 65 

Needham's Outdoor Studies 40 



Copies of any of these books will be sent, prepaid, to any address on receipt 
of the price by the Publishers .' 

America. 1 Book Company 

NEW YORK . CINCINNATI ♦ CHICAGO 



A School History 

of the United States 

By John Bach McMaster 

Professor of American History in the University of 
Pennsylvania. 

Linen, i2mo, 507 pages. With maps and illustrations . . $1.00 

This new history of our country is marked by many 
original and superior features which will commend it alike 
to teachers, students, and general readers. The narra- 
tive is a word-picture of the great events and scenes of 
American history, told in such a way as to awaken enthu- 
siasm in the study and make an indelible impression on 
the mind. From the beginning the attention of the 
student is directed to causes and results, and he is thus 
encouraged to follow the best methods of studying history 
as a connected growth of ideas and institutions, and not a 
bare compendium of facts and dates. Special prominence 
is given to the social, industrial, and economic develop- 
ment of the country, to the domestic life and institutions 
of the people, and to such topics as the growth of inven- 
tions, the highways of travel and commerce, and the pro- 
gress of the people in art, science, and literature. The 
numerous maps give vivid impressions of the early 
voyages, explorations, and settlements, of the chief mili- 
tary campaigns, of the territorial growth of the country, 
and of its population at different periods, while the 
pictures on almost every page illustrate different phases in 
the civil and domestic life of the people. 



Copies of M c Master-' s School History of the United States will 

be sent, prepaid, to any address on receipt of 

the price by the Publishers: 

American Book Company 

NEW YORK ♦ CINCINNATI ♦ CHICAGO 

(32' 



Pupils' Outline Studies 

IN THE 

HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 

BY 

FRANCIS H.WHITE, A.M. 
Rape*-, Square Octavo, 128 pages • • Price, 30 cents 



This is a book of Outline Studies, Maps and Blanks, 
intended for use in connection with the study of United 
States History, It contains an original and systematic 
combination of devices consisting of outline maps, graphic 
charts, and blanks for historical tables and summaries, for 
the reproduction of pictures, for biographical sketches, for 
studies in civil government, etc. It also contains valuable 
suggestions to teachers and pupils, and carefully selected 
lists of historical books and authorities for collateral reading 
and reference. 

Its use will encourage the pupil to observe closely, to 
select the leading and salient facts of history, to classify his 
knowledge, to investigate for himself, and to carry his inves- 
tigations up to recognized authorities and even to original 
sources. It also furnishes opportunity and material for the 
best exercises and training in English Composition. 

The book is conveniently arranged for either class or 
individual instruction and may be used in connection with 
any text-book on United States History. 



Copies of White s Pupils' Outline Studies will be sent prepaid to any 
address^ on receipt of the price ^ by the Publishers: 

American Book Company 

New York ♦ Cincinnati ♦ Chicago 

(28) 



Books for Supplementary Reading 



Dana's Plants and their Children 

By Mrs. William Starr Dana. Illustrated by Alice 
Josephine Smith $0.65 

Kelly's Short Stories of Our Shy Neighbors 

By Mrs. M. A. B. Kelly. Illustrated 50 

McGuffey's Natural History Readers. Illustrated 

McGuffey's F'amiliar Animals and their Wild Kindred . .50 

McGuffey's Living Creatures of Water, Land, and Air . .50 

Lockwood's Aninnal Memoirs. Illustrated 

Part I. Mammals. 317 pages ..... .60 

Part II. Birds. 397 pages 60 

Treat's Home Studies in Nature. Illustrated 

By Mrs. Mary Treat. Part I. — Observations on Birds. 
Part 11. —Habits of Insects. Part III.— Plants that Con- 
sume Animals. Part IV. — Flowering Plants . . . .9C 

Monteith's Popular Science Reader 

By James Monteith. Illustrated 75 

Carpenter's Geographical Reader — Asia 

By Frank G. Carpenter. With Maps and Illustrations .60 
The Geographical Reader and Primer 

A series of journeys round the world. Illustrated . . .60 
Johonnot's Geographical Reader 

By James Johonnot. Illustrated 1.00 

Goho's Pennsylvania Reader. Historical and Patriotic 

By Stephen O. Goho. Illustrated 50 

Shepherd's Historical Reader 

By Henry E. Shepherd 1.00 

Van Bergen's Story of Japan 

By R. Van Bergen. With Double Map of Japan and 

Korea and Numerous Illustrations ..... 1.00 

Holbrook's 'Round the Year in Myth and Song 

By Florence Holbrook. With beautiful Illustrations . .60 



Copies of any of these books will be sent prepaid to any address, on 
receipt of the price by the Publishers : 

American Book Company 
NEW YORK * CINCINNATI * CHICAGO 

(7) 



ScHoor Reading by Grades 



Baldwin's School Readers 

By James Baldwin 

Editor of "Harper's Readers," Author of "Old Greek Stories," "Old 
Stories of the East," etc. 



In method and in subject matter, as well as in artistic and mechan- 
ical execution, these new readers establish an ideal standard, equally- 
well adapted for city and country schools. They possess many original 
and meritorious features which are in accord with the most approved 
methods of instruction, and which will commend them to the best 
teachers and the best schools. The illustrations are an important fea- 
ture of the books, and are the work of the best artists. They are not 
merely pictures inserted for the purpose of ornament, but are intended to 
assist in making the reading exercises both interesting and instructive. 

BALDWIN'S SCHOOL READERS— EIGHT BOOK EDITION 

First Year, 128 pp. 25 cents Fifth Year, 208 pp. 40 cents 

Second Year, 160 pp. 35 cents Sixth Year, 240 pp. 45 cents 

Third Year, 20S pp. 40 cents Seventh Year, 240 pp. 45 cents 

Fourth Year, 208 pp. 40 cents Eighth Year, 240 pp. 45 cents 

For the convenience of ungraded schools, and for all who may 
prefer them in such combined form, an edition corresponding to the 
ordinary five book series of school readers will be furnished as follows : 

BALDWIN'S SCHOOL READERS— FIVE BOOK EDITION 

First Year, 12S pages 25 cents 

Second Year, 160 pages 35 cents 

Third Year, 208 pages . . . . . , 40 cents 

Combined Fourth and Fifth Years. 416 pages . . 60 cents 

Combined Sixth and Seventh Years. 480 pages . . 65 cents 



Copies of either edition of Baldzviti's School Reading by Grades will be 
sent, prepaid, on receipt of the p7'ice by the Ptib Ushers: 

American Book Company 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI » CHICAGO 

(9) 



A Trip Through Asia with the Children " 



Carpenter's Geographical Reader — Asia 

By Frank G. Carpenter. Cloth, i2mo, 304 pages. With 
colored Maps and numerous Illustrations. 

Price, 60 cents 

In the interest of its subjects, as well as in its artistic, 
literary, and mechanical execution, this new Geographical 
Reader is by far the most attractive and noteworthy book 
of its kind. It combines in one volume studies in geog- 
raphy to supplement the regular text-books in use, and a 
book of travels adapted to serve as a reading book in 
school or in the home. 

The studies in geography are not mere compilations 
from other books^ or stories of imaginary trave' ^ but are 
based on actual travel and personal observation. The 
author, who is an experienced traveler and writer, has 
given interesting and vivacious descriptions of his recent 
extended journeys through the different countries of Asia, 
together with graphic pictures of their native peoples, just 
as they are found to-day in their homes and at their 
work. This has been done in such simple language and 
charming manner as to make each chapter in the book 
as entertaining as a story. 

The interest and effectiveness of the book are greatly 
enhanced by the illustrations found on almost every page. 
These are all new, being mostly reproductions from photo- 
graphs taken by the author on the ground. The book is 
also well supplied with maps of Asia and all the countries 
described. 



Copies of Carpenter's Geographical Reader will be sent, prepaid, to any 
address, on receipt of the price, by the Publishers : 



American Book Company 



New York ♦ Cincinnati ♦ Chicago 

(47) 



The Natural Geographies 



Natural Elementary Geography 

Linen Binding, Quarto, 144 pages . . . Price, 60 cents 

Natural Advanced Geography ^ 

Linen Binding, Large Quarto, 160 pages . . Price, $1 25 
By Jacques W. Redway, F.R.G.S., and Russell Hinman, Author 
of the Eclectic Physical Geography. 

The publication of The Natural Geographies marks a new era 
in the study and teaching of geography. Some of the distinctive features 
which characterize this new series are : 

1. A Natural Plan of Development, based on physical geography and 

leading in a natural manner to the study of historical, industrial, 
and commercial geography. 

2. Clear and distinct political maps showing correctly the comparative 

size of different countries, and physical maps showing relief by 
contour lines and different colors, as in the best government maps. 

3. Inductive and comparative treatment of subjects according to the 

most approved pedagogical principles. 

4. Frequent exercises and reviews leading to the correlation and 

comparison of the parts of the subject already studied. 

5. Topical outlines for the language work required by the Courses of 

Study of the best schools. 

6. Supplementary Exercises including laboratory work and references 

for collateral reading. 

7. Numerous original and appropriate pictures and graphic diagrams 

to illustrate the text. 

8. Clear explanations of each necessary term where it first occurs, and 

omission of formal definitions at the beginning of the book. 

9. Strict accordance, in method and treatment, with the recommenda- 

tions of the Committee of Fifteen. 



Illustrated Circulars describing the plan and method of 
the Natural Geographies will be sent free to any address on 
application. 

Copies of the Natural Geographies will be sent, prepaid, to any 
address on receipt of the price by the Publishers : 

American Book Company 

NEW YORK • CINCINNATI ♦ CHICAGO 

(48) 



Natural History Readers 



McGuffey's Familiar Animals and their Wild Kindred. 

For the Third Reader Grade. 

Cloth, i2mo. 208 pages. Illustrated . 50 cents 

McGuffey's Living Creatures of Water, Land, and Air. 
For the Fourth Reader Grade. 

Cloth, i2mo. 208 pages. Illustrated . 50 cents 

The object of McGuffey's Natural History Readers is 
to furnish children, both at home and in school, interesting 
and instructive reading, arranged and graded for reading 
lessons. While no attempt is made to teach science, the 
descriptions of animal habits and characteristics will stimu- 
late a love of nature, and of science, the interpreter of 
nature. 

The first book of the series confines its subjects to 
mammals because the facts connected with this class are 
apparent and are more easily comprehended. The second 
book enters the field of the lower group of animal life, 
where the facts while more remote from ordinary view are 
even more interesting. The illustrations in both books 
are numerous and in the highest degree accurate and 
helpful, being mostly by artists whose study and practice 
have made them specialists in particular departments of 
animal drawing. 

Copies of McGuffeys Natural History Readers will be sent prepaid to 
any address^ on receipt of the price, by the Publishers : 

American Book Company 

New York ♦ Cincinnati ♦ Chicago 

(26) 



Spelling and Word Study 

Patterson's American Word Book 

Graded Lessons in Spelling, Defining, Punctuation, and 
Dictation. By Calvin Patterson, M.A. ... 25 cents 
This New Spelling Book embodies a carefully developed and pro- 
gressive plan for teaching the forms and values of English words in 
common use. The selection of words is based on the needs of the 
present, as shown by long experience in teaching English. 

Harrington's Spelling Book Complete . . . 20 cents 
Part I., separate for Primary Grades .... 15 cents 
Part II., separate for Higher Grades . . . • 15 cents 
A graded spelling book in two parts, which may be had separately 

or complete as may best suit the wants of schools. 

Natural Speller and Word Book .... 20 cents 
Contains a carefully selected and graded list of words with 
valuable special features. 

Swinton's Word Book of English Spelling . . ' 18 cents 
A graded speller with the words arranged in natural groups, accord- 
ing to origin or use, and containing other valuable features. 

TEXT BOOKS IN ETYMOLOGY AND ORTHOGRAPHY 

Anderson's Study of English Words 

By J. M. Anderson. Cloth, i2mo, ii8 pages . . 40 cents 

Designed to furnish, in a form suitable for school or private study, 
a summary of the most important facts of the English language, with 
special reference to the growth and change of English words it is 
based upon such standard authorities as Trench, White, Skeat, \\ hitney, 
and Emerson, and embodies the most recent and authoritative results 
of philological study. 
Swinton's New Word Analysis . . . . . 35 cents 

A practical work on Etymology with exercises in analysis, etc. 
Wright's Analytical Orthography .... 18 cents 

A new edition of this popular and standard work. 

Copies of any of the above books will be sent, prepaid, to any address en 
receipt of the price by the Publishers: 

American Book Company 

NEW YORK ♦ CINCINNATI ♦ CHICAGO 

(I?) 



Mental Arithmetic 



Bailey's American Mental Arithmetic . . 35 cents 

For Advanced Grammar Classes, High Schools, Academies, and 
Normal Schools. Though only recently published, this book has 
met with the highest favor, and is already in satisfactory use in 
the best schools. 

Dubbs's Complete Mental Arithmetic . . 35 cents 

For use in any school where Mental Arithmetic is taught. The 
rapid introduction of this book on its own merit is the best evidence 
of its sterling worth. 

Milne's Mental Arithmetic .... 35 cents 
This book follows the same inductive plan and method of develop- 
ment which has proved so successful in the author's other works. 

Ray's New Intellectual Arithmetic . -. .25 cents 
The Mental Arithmetic of Ray's Series of Arithmetics. 

Robinson's New Intellectual Arithmetic . . 35 cents 

The Mental Arithmetic of Robinson's Series of Arithmetics. 

ARITHMETIC TABLETS AND BLANKS 

National Number Tablets. 12 Nos. . Per doz. 90 cents 
Ray's Test Example Tablets. 8 Nos. . Per doz. $1.00 

Piper's Graded Seat Work in Arith. 4 Nos. Each 8 cents 
These Tablets are very convenient and useful accessories in teaching 
Arithmetic. 



Copies of any of the above Mental Arithmetics will be sent prepaid to 
any address, on receipt of the price by the Publishers : 

American Book Company 

NEW YORK ♦ CINCINNATI ♦ CHICAGO 

(5) 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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